Ophir expands Equatorial Guinea project after finding more gas

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Oil explorer Ophir Energy (Other OTC: OPGYF - news) said on Tuesday it had found additional gas offshore Equatorial Guinea which will allow the company to expand its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project to 3 million tonnes per year.

The Silenus East-1 well is estimated to hold around 405 billion cubic feet of mean recoverable gas, boosting total recoverable resource at its Block R to 3.4 trillion cubic feet, Ophir said.

"The Silenus East well result has confirmed sufficient incremental volumes for Ophir to be able to expand the Block R FLNG project from a 2.5mmTPA to a 3.0mmTPA project," chief executive Nick Cooper said.

The first gas is expected to flow from the FLNG project in early 2019, a date which will be confirmed once Ophir has announced its partnerships for the project in the fourth quarter, he said.

Ophir's drill ship has now moved to the Fortuna-2 appraisal well where the energy firm plans to carry out first flow tests.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps. Editing by Jane Merriman)