Sintana Energy Inc. has announced that Northern Ocean’s Deepsea Bollsta rig is set to carry out its inaugural exploration campaign on Block 2813B, targeting the highly anticipated Kapana-1X well in the second half of December 2024.
This comes as QatarEnergy has entered the Petroleum Exploration Licence 90 (PEL 90) joint venture.
QatarEnergy acquired a 27.5% working interest in the licence and petroleum agreement for Block 2813B, operated by Harmattan Energy Limited, an indirect subsidiary of Chevron Corporation (Chevron Harmattan).
“The entry of QatarEnergy into PEL 90 provides further evidence of the quality and potential of our portfolio at the heart of the Orange Basin. We look forward to the initial drilling campaign on PEL 90 to commence over the next few weeks,” said Sintana Chief Executive Officer Robert Bose.
Following the acquisition, the PEL 90 licence ownership structure now comprises Chevron Harmattan with 52.5% as operator, QatarEnergy with 27.5%, National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) holding 10%, and Trago Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Custos Energy, also holding 10%.
Sintana Energy retains a 49% indirect interest in Custos, solidifying its indirect position in the project.
Block 2813B, which falls within PEL 90, spans approximately 5,433 square kilometres in water depths ranging from 2,400 to 3,300 metres.
It is located 200 kilometers offshore in Namibia’s Orange Basin and 70 kilometres north of TotalEnergies’ significant Venus discovery, where QatarEnergy is also increasing its ownership stake.
This strategic location highlights PEL 90’s promising potential, positioned near world-class discoveries such as Venus and Galp’s Mopane find.
This development marks a step in unlocking Namibia’s offshore oil potential, with the combined expertise of Chevron Harmattan, QatarEnergy, NAMCOR and Custos driving exploration forward.
