OIL has been struck offshore from Mauritania, in northwest Africa, Australian exploration company Woodside Petroleum Ltd. announced here on Wednesday. Woodside, operator and 35 percent stakeholder of the Mauritania Area B joint venture, said the Chinguetti-1 exploration well, 80km offshore, intersected several oil-bearing sandstones. A shallower secondary objective contained gas-bearing sandstones, it said. Woodside said it was currently running wireline logs after reaching a total depth of 2_620m. Energy analyst Andrew Williams, of Australian company Auzeq Securities, said the initial announcement from Woodside was encouraging and appeared to justify its investment in the region. – AFP
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