"US supermajor Chevron is within weeks of spudding a long-awaited debut exploration well in Namibia’s prolific Orange basin, with privately-owned Rhino Resources set to join the area’s latest drilling fest shortly after. After a months’ long drilling lull in the basin, TotalEnergies spudded its Tamboti-1X probe in late October, targeting a billion-barrel prospect close to its huge Venus oil discovery, while Galp Energia is now drilling ahead on its Mopane-2X appraisal well, designed to help delineate what the Portuguese player claims is a 10 billion barrel discovery.
“Chevron will be spudding the Kapana-1X well in the southern half of Petroleum Exploration Licence 90 in the second half of December,” said Jimmy Boulter, regional manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at energy intelligence provider Enverus. He told Upstream that the well will commence drilling after mobilisation of the semi-submersible rig Deepsea Bollsta from Ghana where it is undertaking a drill stem test on Springfield Energy’s Afina discovery.
Victoria Sibeya, head of exploration at Nambian state oil company Namcor — a partner in all the country’s E&P acreage — later confirmed to Upstream that Chevron’s well will be drilled next month. When asked on the sidelines of African Energy Week (AEW) — organised by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) — about the timing of Rhino’s two-well campaign in PEL 85, she said it could also start in December, but again declined to discuss the company’s drilling targets.
However, a recent Namcor presentation did identify US supermajor Chevron’s prospect as Kapana, while also suggesting that Rhino’s initial target is called Volans. Rhino has chartered the drillship Noble Venturer for its campaign, with the unit currently working for Trident Energy and Kosmos Energy in Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, production from Namibia’s Orange basin could begin in 2029, although it is unclear if Galp or TotalEnergies will be the first operator to bring on stream a project. According to the AEC, Maggy Shino, Petroleum Commissioner at Namibia’s Ministry of Mines & Energy, told attendees at AEW that successful appraisal of Galp’s Mopane complex in PEL 83 could accelerate first oil. “With the discoveries that have been made, work has been ongoing… to determine timelines for final investment decisions and production,” she said."
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)