Vanoil Energy and Syracuse University’s Department of Earth Sciences have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to begin a complete basin imaging survey. The company has started to move the drilling equipment to start this survey at the Lake Kivu Graben’s Rwandan side, which is present at the 1,631 sq. km licence in Rwanda.
The company conducted a reconnaissance survey at the Lake Kivu during 2010 and demonstrated the presence of a complicated near surface subsurface geology. The previous geological research has shown that the lake has undergone dynamic methods on human and geologic timescales. The images of the high-resolution have confirmed the proof for potential subsurface leaching, current normal faulting and sediment mass flows. The basin’s complete sedimentary portion will be imaged by the upcoming work.
This proposed two dimensional, complete basin imaging survey comes under the hydrocarbon exploration campaign of the company in order to discover structural leads by means of seismic imaging techniques. This work is based on an incremental footing for the energy source, to make sure the safety processes of the vessel crew and the surroundings, due to the previous limnic gas explosion, which the lake water column may have experienced.
Significance of the survey by Syracuse University is to promote the scientific analysis of the East African rift system and Lake Kivu.
The company’s exclusive license in the East Kivu Graben is present on the similar rift trend along with the Albertine Graben, wherein around 1.5 M recoverable barrels of oil were identified at the Heritage Oil, Lake Albert and Tullow Oil.
Source: http://www.vanoil.ca/