BW Energy is reviewing rig offers as part of intensified preparations for the drilling of an appraisal well at the Kharas Prospect in the Kudu licence offshore southern Namibia, with operations scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025.
The company confirmed that key long-lead items have already been secured, with rig capacity currently under evaluation.
“In Namibia, BW Energy continued to prepare for an appraisal well targeting the Kharas Prospect northwest in the Kudu licence, with planned start-up drilling operations in the second half of 2025. Long-lead items have been procured and the company is reviewing offers for rig capacity,” BW Energy said.
The offshore appraisal programme according to BW Energy,will comprise seabed sampling and the drilling of up to four appraisal wells.
These operations according to BW Energy will incorporate vertical seismic profiling, well testing, and the subsequent plugging and abandonment or suspension of the wells. The drilling will target Block 2814A (PPL003), situated in southern Namibia.
According to BW Energy’s 2024 annual report, the company has officially sanctioned the Kharas appraisal programme.
“BW Energy has sanctioned the drilling of an appraisal well targeting the Kharas Prospect north-west in the Kudu licence with planned start-up of drilling in the third quarter of 2025,” the report stated.
Environmental permitting is also under way, with BW Kudu — the company’s Namibian subsidiary — having appointed an Environmental Assessment Practitioner in accordance with Namibia’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations of 2012. Environmental consultancy has been engaged to lead the process, and submitted the Scoping Report to the Competent Authority in October 2024.
BW Energy is also working closely with Namibian authorities and the national power utility to advance the Kudu gas-to-power project, which is expected to play a transformative role in Namibia’s energy landscape.
“The project has the potential to transform Namibia’s power situation and has wide local stakeholder support, including political and regulatory bodies,” the company noted.
In a related development, BW Energy expanded its footprint in the region after acquiring a 20% working interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 73.
The transfer, approved in January 2025 by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and Namcor Exploration and Production Pty Ltd, was made by Canadian firm ReconAfrica.
