Africa-Press – Namibia. ANGLO-DUTCH multinational oil and gas company Shell has spudded the Graff-1 exploration well, off Namibia’s coast, while TotalEnergies drills on the nearby Venus prospect.
This was confirmed by National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) chief executive officer Immanuel Mulunga, who said the process started on 9 December and is expected to last 45 days.
Spudding is the process of beginning to drill a well in the oil and gas industry. A larger drill bit is initially used to clear a surface hole, which is then lined with casing and cement to protect groundwater.
According to Global Voice, a leading publication on global oil issues, Namcor reported that Shell Namibia Upstream is operating the well with QatarEnergy.
“This is quite a milestone for us and the country as a whole and [we] look forward to the well results,” Mulunga said.
According to Global Voice, Shell is drilling on Block 2913A in the Orange Basin, in around 2 000 metres of water. Shell and QatarEnergy each have a 45% stake in the area, while Namcor has 10% carried interest.
Namcor also holds another 10% equity in TotalEnergies, said Mulunga. He said the state-owned company had not spent any money on the projects but should there be any discoveries, they will “pay them back 10% of exploration costs”.
“We look forward to the results around February,” Mulunga said. Shell had been weighing up three prospects on the block before opting for Graff.
Shell, one of the oil and gas supermajors – measured by 2020 revenues, is the 19th-largest company in the world. The company shot 7 500 square kilometres of 3D seismic off Namibia in 2019.
TotalEnergies spudded the Venus well on 1 December on the adjacent Block 2913B. It is drilling this well in 3 000 metres of water, with the Maersk Voyager.
The Graff-1 is targeting a shallower area than Venus. Tullow Oil has a licence to the north of TotalEnergies’ Block 2913B, while Galp has the licence to the north of Shell’s block. The Kudu gas field is north-east of Shell’s Graff-1 well, where BW Energy is working on a power development plan.
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