Galp Energia has commenced drilling an exploration well offshore Namibia, targeting a huge structure that could hold as much as 10 billion barrels of oil in place.
The probe, according to Upstream, is being drilled in Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 83, immediately north of acreage where Shell has made four significant discoveries to date and just west of BW Energy’s 1.3 trillion cubic foot Kudu gas project.
If this well meets expectations, it will be a substantial resource boost for the operator and could lead to supermajors once again expressing interest in acquiring a stake in the asset, where Galp currently holds an 80% stake.
This comes as Galp signed a N$911 million (US$50 million) contract with SFL Corporation for the semi-submersible rig Hercules.
Galp operates PEL 83 with an 80% interest, while Namibia’s National Petroleum Corporation holds 10%, and Custos Energy, half-owned by Sintana, has a 10% stake.
PEL 83 is situated north of PEL 39, home to Shell’s basin-opening discoveries at Graff-1, La Rona-1, and Jonker-1. It is also positioned north and west of PEL 56, where TotalEnergies announced its giant oil discovery at Venus-1. Both Shell and Total continue to progress exploration and appraisal activities on their respective blocks.
Businessman Knowledge Katti has an interest through his company, Custos Energy, a Namibian independent oil and gas exploration company focused on attracting investment and expertise to the Namibian offshore industry.-Upstream/miningandenergy.com.na
