General Thoughts, page-6377

Another close neighbour drilling in 2025. Interesting that the initial well "Kharas lies in the northwest of PL 003 in an area BW Energy previously identified as the “Kudu North sweet spot.”

BW Energy pinpoints first Namibia drilling location — and it’s not an exploration target

BW Energy has pinpointed the location of the first of four wells it will start drilling in 2025 in Namibia’s prolific Orange basin in an effort to both boost the resources of its marginal Kudu gas field and also hunt for fresh exploration plays. The Oslo-listed player operates the shallow-water Kudu gas project and, while continuing to work on a development plan for the 1.3 trillion cubic feet field, it has also been stimulated into exploration action by the rash of recent discoveries made in the basin by TotalEnergies, Shell and Galp Energia. In particular, just to the west, Galp’s huge Mopane discovery triggered BW Energy to take a fresh look at its adjacent Production Licence 003 (which hosts Kudu) and carry out a major 3D seismic shoot, the results of which it is now wading through to pinpoint future drilling targets. It is now close to finalising the well locations for its 2025 drilling campaign.

Chief executive Carl Arnet said: “We have named our first appraisal well Kharas and have defined a location for this well,” adding: “We have also secured all the long-lead items to undertake this drilling campaign in the second half of 2025.” Kharas lies in the northwest of PL 003 in an area BW Energy previously identified as the “Kudu North sweet spot.” With processing of the 3D data now completed, he said the company has also identified a number of others “good locations” for future wells. In all previous communications, BW Energy has talked about an exploration campaign, not an appraisal programme, but it is unclear why the nomenclature has changed and what significance this may have, if any, for the licence’s exploration potential. The 3D survey covered the entirety of PL 003 so it would also offer insight on potential appraisal opportunities at Kudu as well as more higher profile exploration possibilities.

Searcher Seismic and Shearwater completed the 3D shoot for BW Energy, after which Searcher noted that the survey “was tailored to map the reservoir geology of the Kudu gas field, the up-dip area of the Orange basin’s extensive GDFTB (gravity-driven fold and thrust belt), and the channels leading to Galp’s Mopane discovery.” Speaking to analysts on 15 November, Arnet said BW Energy is currently reviewing offers from rig suppliers for next year’s campaign. “We are pleased to say the current bids look attractive and we see price levels that are somewhat below expectations we had,” he said.