/ 7 October 2004

Sasol finds new oil fields off Gabon

The South African oil company Sasol announced on Wednesday that it has increased production at the Etame oil field off the southern coast of Gabon and has discovered two new oil fields nearby.

The company said it has increased production in the Etame field from 15 000 to 22 000 barrels a day by completing a new well and finding the two nearby oil fields.

The Etame field was discovered in 1998 and started producing in September of 2002.

”The success of the additional well and the discovery of these new oil fields reinforce our belief that offshore southern Gabon has the potential to become a significant future cash generator for Sasol,” said chief executive Pieter Cox in a statement.

The latest oil field was discovered at Avouma, about 20km southeast of Etame and the discovery well produced about 6 600 barrels a day, the company said.

The company also said it had not previously reported the January discovery of the Ebouri oil field about 11km northwest of Etame. – Sapa-AP