CHAMWE KAIRA
Namibia’s quest to become an oil producer has suffered another setback. Sintana Energy Inc. has announced that it has been notified by Chevron that while operations reached total depth 25% ahead of plan at its offshore Namibia exploration, the well did not find commercial hydrocarbons.
This is the second setback suffered by Namibia in its quest to become an oil producer following the recent announcement by Shell that it will write down around US$400 million over an oil discovery offshore Namibia that it deemed commercially unviable.
Shell said the oil and gas resources in offshore block PEL39 in Namibia cannot currently be confirmed for commercial development.
The company has drilled nine wells in the licence over the past three years, making several other discoveries.
Sintana said operations did return valuable information on important aspects of the basin and increased confidence in the future programme on PEL 90.
The update was in regard to the operations associated with the Kapana 1-X exploration well located on Block 2813B, which is governed by Petroleum Exploration License 90 (PEL 90) and operated by Harmattan Energy Limited, an indirect subsidiary of Chevron Corporation.
Trago Energy (Pty) Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Custos Energy (Pty) Ltd, in which Sintana maintains a 49% indirect interest and is a 10% working interest owner in PEL 90.
Trago has been notified by Chevron that while operations reached total depth 25% ahead of plan, the well did not find commercial hydrocarbons. Operations did return valuable information on important aspects of the basin and increased confidence in the future program at PEL 90.
“The geologic insights and improved confidence in the future program on PEL 90 from these operations provide strong support for continued progress and value in our portfolio in Namibia’s Orange Basin, the world’s exploration hotspot,” said Knowledge Katti, chairman and CEO of Custos and a director of Sintana.
“We look forward to the many opportunities ahead to further unveil the quality of our unmatched position in the heart of the Orange Basin, including the future activity on PEL 90 and the ongoing activity on PEL 83,” added Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer of Sintana.
Sintana is engaged in petroleum and natural gas exploration and development activities on five large, highly prospective, onshore and offshore petroleum exploration licenses in Namibia and in Colombia’s Magdalena Basin.
Sintana holds an indirect interest in the PEL 79 license (Blocks 2815/2915), which is located in the northern Orange sub-basin off the southwest coast of Namibia.
Adjacent to the west is PEL 3, home to the Kudu gas field, discovered by the drilling of the Kudu-1 well in 1974 and delineated by seven subsequent wells. During 2023, BW Energy acquired 4600 km² of 3D seismic across all of PEL 3 aimed at further developing the oil prospectivity on the block.
In April last year, Galp successfully completed the first phase of the Mopane exploration campaign with the conclusion of the Mopane-1X well testing operations. The Mopane discovery further underscores the exploration potential for PEL 79.
Regarding onshore activities, Sintana holds a carried interest in the PEL 103 license (Block 1918B), which is located in the northeast corner of Namibia, in the Waterberg Basin.
The Waterberg Basin shares similarities in respect to ReconAfrica’s Kavango Basin acreage, as confirmed in its first stratigraphic test well (6-2). ReconAfrica’s discovery confirmed an active petroleum system with porous and permeable sediments containing marine hydrocarbons.
PEL 103, located 55 km to the southwest of ReconAfrica, contains Permian sediments that are expected to hold similar hydrocarbons.
