Factbox: Oil exploration boom in Namibia

Sintana Energy

21/06/2024 12:29

June 21 (Reuters) - Namibia has become an oil
exploration hotspot after several discoveries in recent years
along its coast. 
    It has not yet produced any oil or gas, but oil majors such
as TotalEnergies  TTEF.PA  and Shell  SHEL.L  have made
discoveries estimated at 2.6 billion barrels, with production in
the southern African country expected from about 2030. 
    There have been discoveries in the Orange Basin and there
are other prospective areas, including Luderitz, Kavango and
Walvis basins.
    Below are details on the latest developments (in
alphabetical order):
    
        CHEVRON  CVX.N  
    The U.S. oil major is expected to begin exploration later
this year. 
    It signed a development deal in April that will see it take
an 80% operating working interest in an offshore block in the
Walvis Basin. 
    Chevron Namibia Exploration Ltd is also the operator of PEL
(Petroleum Exploration Licence) 90, an offshore deepwater block
in the Orange Basin.

        ENI  ENI.MI , BP  BP.L  
    Azule Energy, a joint venture between Italy's Eni and BP for
their Angolan assets, and exploration firm Rhino Resources
Namibia have agreed a farm-in agreement for a 42.5% interest in
an offshore Orange Basin licence, the companies said in May.

        GALP  GALP.LS  
    In early 2024 the Portuguese energy group carried out tests
at its Mopane-1X and Mopane-2X wells and estimated in April that
the Mopane field could hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil
following a first phase of exploration.
    The find at Mopane, which is located at PEL 83, appears to
be one of the largest made in the Orange Basin following
successful exploration campaigns by TotalEnergies and Shell in
recent years.
    Galp has launched the sale of half of its Mopane stake.
    The company has an 80% stake in the PEL 83 block, while the
remaining 20% is split between Namibian state firm Namcor and
Sintana Energy's  SEI.V  Namibian unit Custos Energy.
    
    SHELL  SHEL.L  
    The oil major and its partners made what it described as an
"encouraging" discovery in an exploration well off the coast of
Namibia in February 2022.
    Shell is exploring the offshore oil and gas in PEL 39 in the
Orange Basin with JV partners QatarEnergy and Namcor.
    PEL 39 covers an area of 12,000 square kilometres and
includes seven wells where drilling has taken place. Its Graff
well could hold 2.38 billion barrels of oil and its Jonker-1X
well another 2.5 billion. 
    
    TOTALENERGIES  TTEF.PA  
    The French oil and gas major in January agreed to acquire an
additional 10.5% interest in Block 2913B and a 9.39% interest in
Block 2912. The company is set to spend about 30% of its $1
billion exploration and appraisal budget in Namibia in 2024.
    It began its activity in Namibia in 1964 and currently
operates two deep offshore exploration blocks. Total owns a 40%
working interest, while QatarEnergy, Impact Oil and Gas and
Namcor have stakes of 30%, 20% and 10%, respectively. 
    Block 2913B, located in the Orange Basin, contains the Venus
1-X well, where by the end of 2025, TotalEnergies aims to
approve its first oil development in Namibia. 
    Namibia is planning for first oil production from Venus,
estimated to hold about 5.1 billion barrels of oil, between 2029
and 2030.

    

 (Compiled by Jakub Olesiuk; editing by Jason Neely)
 ((jakub.olesiuk@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 00;))