African-focused Ophir Energy has drilled a duster with its deepwater Mlinzi-Mbali 1 wildcat in Block 7 off the coast of east Africa’s Tanzania.

The US independent said the well, drilled by the Deepsea Metro 1 drillship, was completed ahead of schedule and budget but found that a primary Lower Cretaceous channel complex drilling target, and secondary Upper Cretaceous and Jurassic targets, were water-bearing.

The drillship is next due to be used for a high-impact drilling programme by BG Group offshore Kenya, before then returning to Tanzania for a further well on Block 1 and on Ophir’s operated East Pande block during the first half of this year.

“This frontier well disappointingly did not encounter live hydrocarbons, however it is the deepest stratigraphic test offshore Tanzania and will provide crucial information that will be integrated into our interpretation of the potential of Block 7 and the wider deepwater basins of Tanzania,” said Ophir’s chief executive Nick Cooper.

Block 7 is operated by Dominion Tanzania Ltd, an Ophir Energy subsidiary.