CHAMWE KAIRA
Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd (ReconAfrica) has announced that it has successfully produced hydrocarbons to surface during production testing at its Kavango West 1X discovery well in northeastern Namibia, marking what the company describes as the first hydrocarbons ever produced to surface from an onshore well in the country.
The Canadian oil and gas company, together with its partners BW Energy, which holds a 20% working interest, and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR), which holds a 10% carried working interest, commenced production testing operations at the well on 8 June 2026.
ReconAfrica completed testing of three lower zones within the Elandshoek Formation, with the uppermost tested zone successfully producing natural gas to surface during three separate flow tests.
The company said hydrocarbon samples were collected for laboratory analysis, while the remaining produced hydrocarbons were flared at the surface.
The samples will be sent to laboratories in the United States for compositional analysis, with results expected in the coming weeks.
Following completion of the Elandshoek testing programme, testing equipment is being moved to the shallower Huttenberg Formation, where three identified zones will be tested.
The Huttenberg Formation contains 182 metres of reservoir section, including 76 metres of net hydrocarbon pay identified through well log analysis.
ReconAfrica expects testing of each zone could take up to approximately 10 days, with the next production test update anticipated towards the end of August.
ReconAfrica president and chief executive officer Brian Reinsborough said the production of hydrocarbons to surface represented a significant milestone for the company and Namibia’s onshore exploration sector.
“We are very excited to have produced hydrocarbons to surface on the Kavango West production test, which are the first hydrocarbons ever produced to surface onshore Namibia,” Reinsborough said.
He added that the results confirmed that naturally fractured carbonate rocks within the Elandshoek Formation could support production.
ReconAfrica said the entire 1 657-metre Otavi section, which includes both the Huttenberg and Elandshoek formations, was cased and cemented with production casing, allowing the company to individually test six targeted zones identified through well log analysis.
The company noted that while the production casing configuration is required for the initial testing phase, it may limit access to natural reservoir fractures.
After completion of the remaining perforated zone tests, ReconAfrica is considering drilling an open-hole horizontal or deviated sidetrack extension from the wellbore to intersect a larger reservoir interval and fracture network.
The company said global comparisons with similar naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs indicate that horizontal and deviated wells can deliver significantly higher production rates compared with conventional vertical wells.
ReconAfrica said natural gas and liquids were produced intermittently, although accurate flow rates could not be determined due to equipment limitations.
ReconAfrica recovered approximately eight litres of hydrocarbon samples from the surface, stored in IsoTubes, which will undergo laboratory analysis to determine the composition of the produced fluids and distinguish between natural gas, associated natural gas liquids and possible recovered load fluids.
ReconAfrica is exploring the Damara Fold Belt and Kavango Rift Basin in the Kalahari Desert covering parts of northeastern Namibia, southeastern Angola and northwestern Botswana.
The company holds petroleum licences and access to approximately 13 million contiguous acres in the region and also operates the Ngulu block in shallow offshore waters of central Gabon.
