Oil on the horizon

A second expedition in Galp Energia’s Mopane petroleum exploration licence (PEL 83) in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia was completed by mid-March, with a "significant column of light oil in reservoirs of high quality” being discovered.

Galp continues to analyse the acquired data and assess the commercial viability of the discoveries, Sintana Energy said in a statement.

Galp holds an 80% interest in PEL 83, with Namcor and local businessman Knowledge Katti’s Custos Energy each holding 10%.

Half of Custos belongs to Sintana Energy.

Two significant oil column discoveries were identified in the first well drilled in Mopane last year.

“The continuing success of the exploration campaign further demonstrates the scope and potential of PEL 83,” said Katti, chairman and CEO of Custos.

“This is another significant milestone for Custos, positioning us for further growth and continued success underpinned by our unmatched position in the heart of the basin,” he added.



Quality exploration

Namibia’s petroleum commissioner at the mines and energy ministry, Maggy Shino, also commented on the Mopane 2X results: “The announcement of another significant discovery and the appraisal success at the upper target is further testament to the hard work and dedication of the partners involved, as well as another demonstration of the potential for further growth in our oil industry. With this discovery, we are one step closer to harnessing the full potential of this campaign.”

Sintana CEO Robert Bose said: “This third light oil discovery in the Mopane complex and the appraisal results at the AVO-1 reservoir 8 km away from the [Mopane] 1X location provide further evidence of the scale and quality of our exploration portfolio held through our local partners, including Custos.”

Bose added: “We continue to be reminded of the timeliness of our entry into Namibia with the ongoing progress and success."

Speaking at a recent investors’ conference, Galp CEO Filipe Silva said the company will pump more than N$3 billion into its oil hunt in its Mopane prospect this year.

The Mopane-1X well is in the PEL 83 concession, northwest of PEL 56, the exploration block in the Orange Basin where TotalEnergies' giant oil discovery was made at Venus-1. In addition, the block is also north of PEL 39, home to Shell's initial discoveries at Graff-1, La Rona-1 and Jonker-1.



Growing exploration

Meanwhile, Shell has applied to expand its own oil exploration.

Shell Namibia Upstream B.V. appointed the international environmental consultants SLR to drive the process for the adjustment of its environmental clearance certificate. According to SLR, a report on the proposed adjustment was already submitted to the environment, forestry and tourism ministry in November last year.

Shell wants to expand the 3D seismic survey of 2014 and a larger, similar survey from 2018 and 2019. The company also wants to apply a smaller spacing for a third survey and use the seismic survey technology Ocean Bottom Nodes (OBN) to obtain a more detailed overview.

At the same time, Shell has also applied for the renewal of its environmental clearance certificate.

TotalEnergies also remains optimistic, and in February, CEO Patrick Pouyanne confirmed recent reports about an oil find in TotalEnergies' Mangetti-1 exploration well. Mangetti sits just north of Venus. TotalEnergies spent half of its exploration budget for 2023 in Namibia and will spend about 30% of its US$1 billion exploration and appraisal budget for 2024 in Namibia, it said.

On 5 February, the French company entered into a joint venture with Vantage Drilling International, giving it a 75% stake in the Tungsten Explorer drillship, which it is using to drill the Mangetti well for US$199 million, according to S&P Global’s commodity insights.