In Mauritania, Baraka has confirmed potential hydrocarbon targets in the Heron structure for the Block 20 drilling program.

It said the processing and interpretation of the 65km infill survey has confirmed Heron’s closure to the north. Plans are now underway to drill an onshore exploration well.

“Further AVO reprocessing of the 1990 data, coupled with this infill survey have revealed the presence of positive and qualitative hydrocarbon indicators that could be related to the presence of hydrocarbon both at primary and secondary targets," Baraka managing director Max de Vietri said.

“The source for the hydrocarbons within these reservoirs is a different and older source than the younger source that has given rise to the Chinguetti discoveries.”

De Vietri said the recent Tevet-2 and Faulcon-1 discoveries had increased the chance of success for the planned Heron-1 well and confirmed Baraka’s long-standing hypothesis for a working Jurassic and early Cretaceous source.

Spudding of Heron-1 is planned for the beginning of the third quarter of next year, subject to rig availability.

Meanwhile in Mali, contracting company CGG has completed the reprocessing of over 5,800km of seismic data from the 1970s and early 80s.

Baraka says its interpretation of the entire Taoudeni basin has confirmed and improved the mapping of:

· The distribution of the Infracambrian source rock interval (stromatolithic limestone) throughout the basin, allowing better estimation of the source rocks volumetrics.

· The Ordovician unconformity and the top of Silurian shale interval (shallow oil prone source rock) with increased resolution giving a better understanding of the depositional environment.

· Confirmation of very large (more than 50 square kilometres) closed structures in Baraka’s blocks at the Infracambrian level, further indicating that the structure tested by Yarba-1 in 1982 was probably not closed towards the SW, as a possible explanation for only hydrocarbon traces (C1 to C4) found in Yarba-1.

Upon request, the Mali authorities have extended Baraka's Year 2 PSA work programs from 12 to 18 months, which are scheduled to start following the completion of the airborne surveys.

This time extension will allow Baraka to drill shallow stratigraphic holes to confirm the source and reservoir quality and distribution at the end of next year, the company said.