Drillers unfazed by poor Ethiopian results

LONDON, May 23 (UPI) -- Only trace amounts of gas were found in a frontier well in Ethiopia, though data are key for future development, Tullow Oil said Friday.

Tullow drilled its Shimela-1 wildcat well, or a well tapping into a basin not known to have volumes of oil or gas, at the Chew Bahir basin in Ethiopia. It found only trace amounts of gas, and the company said it would now move the drilling rig to a new location in the southeast corner of the basin.

"Although the Shimela well only found traces of thermogenic gas, it has provided key data to continue to build our understanding of the north-western part of the Chew Bahir basin," Tullow Exploration Director Angus McCoss said in a statement.

Tullow is a partner with Africa Oil, a Canadian exploration company.

Keith Hill, the company's president and chief executive officer, said results from Shimela-1 were disappointing, but there still may be "significant potential" in the Ethiopian basin.