Africa-Press – Namibia. THE National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Shell Namibia Upstream BV and QatarEnergy announced on Friday that oil was discovered at the Graff-1 well, however, the exact quantity and value have not yet been determined.
The deep-water exploration which started in December last year, yielded a discovery of light oil, it was announced.
Last month, The Namibian reported that this discovery off the coast of Namibia was worth an estimated N$334 billion, depending on the quality of oil and whether or not the companies involved agree to commercialise.
At the time, a source had said the discovery indicated one layer, at least 60 metres deep, of hydrocarbons which holds an estimated 250 to 300 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent.
Estimated at average prices last month of US$88 per barrel, this added up to a reservoir worth over U$29 billion, equivalent to N$334 billion at the current exchange rate.
New developments, however, have emerged.
Making the announcement last week, Namcor’s Paulo Coelho said more extensive laboratory analyses must be conducted to gain a better understanding of the reservoir quality and potential flow rates achievable.
“While we can learn a great deal from the results of Graff-1, we anticipate that further exploration activity, including a second exploration well, will be required to determine the size and recoverable potential of the identified hydrocarbons,” he said.
The Graff-1 well has proved a working petroleum system for light oil in the Orange Basin, situated offshore Namibia about 270km from the town of Oranjemund.
Drilling operations commenced in early December 2021, and were safely completed in early February 2022.
“We hope that this discovery puts to rest doubts about the hydrocarbon potential of Namibia and opens a new dawn in the country’s future prosperity,” said Namcor managing director Immanuel Mulunga.
The discovery was made on the Petroleum Exploration Licence 39 (PEL 39), which is owned by Shell (45%) and Qatar Petroleum (45%), with Namcor owning the remaining 10%.
PEL 39 lies in the south-western part of the Kudu Gas Project and in the same region as the TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil licensed areas.
Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo took to social media yesterday to say that the discovery is a beam of hope for the Namibian economy.
“I congratulate Shell, QatarEnergy and Namcor on their recent oil discovery offshore Namibia. It gives us a clear shot at reimaging our economy. When the time comes, it’s for us to think boldly in structuring a recovery model that’s in the best interest of all stakeholders,” he said on Twitter.
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