From the sounds of it, Pouyanne might be better off staying in Namibia...
TotalEnergies targets 2026 to drill deepwater wildcats in South Africa's Orange basin play"TotalEnergies is firming up plans to kick-start a potential two-well wildcat campaign in South Africa’s undrilled deepwater sector of the Orange basin in 2026. These would be the first exploration wells drilled in waters off South Africa’s west coast since Eco-Atlantic's unsuccessful, shallow-water Gazania-1 probe in late 2022, but non-profits and community groups have taken to the courts to prevent these wildcats ever seeing the light of day.
According to the French supermajor’s chief executive, Patrick Pouyanne, these two probes could be drilled immediately after the company completes its Olympe exploration well in Block 2912 offshore Namibia, close to its big Venus oil and gas find. The semi-submersible rig Deepsea Mira will spud a well at Olympe in either late 2025 or early 2026 and is then destined to mobilise south of the maritime boundary to drill the Volstruis prospect in the Deep Water Orange Basin (DWOB) block and the Nayla prospect in the north of adjacent Block 3B/4B.
“We would like to have a full campaign between Olympe and South Africa,” Pouyanne told analysts on 5 February during the company's 2025 outlook webcast. He remarked that the permitting process in South Africa is a little longer than in some other countries, but the idea is to have, in 2025/2026, a rig come in and drill these exploration wells.
Three months ago, a local fishing organisation, Aukotowa Fisheries Primary Co-Operative, and two non-profits — The Green Connection and Natural Justice — took their fight against TotalEnergies' drilling plan for DWOB to the Western Cape High Court. The two non-profits and other local organisations have also filed a court appeal to prevent drilling in Block 3B/4B."
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