afrol News, 16 November - Rwandan government has not given up its search for oil deposits in its Kivu Graben Basin close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has granted a Canadian oil firm Vangold Resources Ltd prospecting rights to search oil deposits in the area, the first time in history that Rwandan is making efforts to explore hydrocarbons.

The government signed a technical evaluation agreement for the East Kivu Graben, granting the Canadian firm to carry out a year's technical study in the area's 1,631 sq kms.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vangold will conduct a detailed and comprehensive study of the area for the evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential and the identification of those areas of greatest prospective interest.

It will also conduct aeromagnetic and gravity surveys over a period of 18 months by either plane or helicopter. The cost of the surveys is estimated to be US $1.2 million.

Rwanda granted a right of first option to Vangold to negotiate and execute a contract for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons.

Kivu Graben, approximately 90 km wide and 200 km, that straddles both Rwanda and the DRC, is part of the great western East African Rift System. The area is structurally the southern extension of the Albertine Graben in Uganda where Tullow Oil and Heritage made major oil discoveries.

Favourable petroleum systems exist supporting the generation, migration, accumulation and entrapment of hydrocarbons in the graben, Vangold officials said. Based on structural similarity, it follows that the paleo-tectonic setting and graben-fill environment established in the Albertine Graben may have extended to Kivu Graben.

"It is reasonable to conclude that the favourable petroleum systems resulting in the generation and entrapment of the hydrocarbons in Albertine Graben may have also existed in Kivu Graben," Vangold's Geologist, Francis Karanja, said.

The technical study showed positive indicators of hydrocarbons generation in Kivu Graben include the existence of methane and other higher molecular aliphatic hydrocarbons in deep waters of Lake Kivu. The higher molecular gases include ethane, propane, is-butane and traces of n-butane.

Evidences to the existence of Miocene deep lakes and sedimentary basins where oil generating source rocks may have accumulated include the lacustrine sedimentary sequence outcrop of Gisakura Formation at Gisakura place and further the observed sub-lacustrine alteration of the Miocene basalts in Kivu graben. The basalts [pillow lavas] erupted sub-aqueous suggesting possibility of deep lakes in the Miocene time in Kivu Graben.

"There are indications of possible development of prospective sedimentary basins in Kivu Graben," the President and CEO of Vangold, Dal Brynelsen, told 'The East African'.

"However, details in terms of actual basin-fill thicknesses of the individual basins in the graben area and their petroleum potential is unknown. Vangold is committed to and prepared to underwrite this risk for the next 18

By staff writer

© afrol News

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