General Thoughts, page-1748

And another nearby block looking to drill up to 10 wells. Plus "all attention has been focused on exploration activities by TotalEnergies, Shell, Galp, Chevron and Woodside in the red-hot basin".

Ambitious junior ignites Orange basin drill plan in Namibia

Rhino Resources, a privately-owned South African player operating promising acreage in Namibia’s prolific Orange basin, has got the ball rolling on securing environmental approvals to drill up to 10 wells on its untouched block. The company operates Block 2914A, located directly northeast of Shell’s acreage — where the supermajor has four significant discoveries on its hands — and immediately south of BW Energy’s long-planned Kudu gas project.

Late last year, Rhino sole-funded the acquisition of a new 3D seismic survey covering 1700 square kilometres in the western part of the block with the aim of reconfirming and expanding the block’s lead inventory. “Early analysis of the new seismic cube, combined with extensive existing datasets, gives confidence in the multiple play types identified and the abundance of drillable prospects,” said the company’s website. It added that the block partners are “progressing with the planning and contracting of a two-well exploration drilling and testing campaign".

While almost all attention has been focused on exploration activities by TotalEnergies, Shell, Galp, Chevron and Woodside in the red-hot basin, Rhino has been operating beneath the publicity radar. However, an indication it is firming up drilling plans comes from a brief environmental filing submitted to the Windhoek government that kick-starts the environmental approval process. The background information document stated that Rhino “proposes to drill up to 10 exploration and/or appraisal wells… to confirm and test the presence and quality of hydrocarbon resources".