The well is situated in a water depth of around 2,600m and has a planned total depth of 5,650m true vertical depth subsea.
The well, which is being drilled by the Deepsea Metro I drillship, is expected to complete operations in 50 days.
The company intends to target a structural crest within a lower cretaceous channel complex, with secondary targets in the upper cretaceous and the jurassic.
The pre-drill estimates of the company indicated that the two primary channel reservoirs in the lower cretaceous are expected to include Pmean prospective resources of c.10tcf.
Success would significantly derisk the total resource potential within the overall Mlinzi Channel complex, which is estimated at >20tcf, as well as in other structures within the block.
Ophir Energy CEO Nick Cooper said that Mlinzi Mbali-1 is the first of several high-impact wells that Ophir will be drilling over the next 12 months.
"The Mlinzi Mbali prospect is one of the largest prospects (on pre drill estimates) to be drilled to date offshore East Africa," Cooper added.
