Vanoil Energy Ltd is pleased to announce that it has executed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Earth Sciences, of Syracuse University of New York to commence a full basin imaging survey. The Company has begun mobilizing equipment to commence this survey of the Rwandan side of Lake Kivu Graben on its 1,631 square kilometre exclusive licence in Rwanda.
The reconnaissance survey of Lake Kivu in 2010 showed that the shallow subsurface geology is complex, and past geological research indicates that the lake has been subject to dynamic processes on geologic and human timescales. High-resolution images show evidence for recent normal faulting, sediment mass flows and possible subsurface seepages. Future work will image the full sedimentary section of the basin.
The planned 2D, full basin imaging survey is part of Vanoil's hydrocarbon exploration program to identify structural leads using seismic imaging methods. This work will be on a incremental basis for the energy source, to ensure safe operations both for the environment and for the vessel crew, as the lake water column may have been subject to limnic eruptions of gas in the geologic past. Syracuse University's interest in the conducting the survey is to foster scientific understanding of Lake Kivu and the East African Rift System, the largest and one of one of the most active extensional systems on earth.
Vanoil's 1,631 square kilometres of oil and gas exclusive license in the East Kivu Graben is on the same rift trend with the Albertine Graben, where, at Lake Albert, Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil have stated that they have found approximately 1.5 billion recoverable barrels of oil; a significant discovery that many believe may represent only a small portion of the enormous potential of the area.
