Namibia continues to attract international oil companies with a significant offshore discovery. Portugal’s Galp has announced a successful drill at the Mopane-1A appraisal well in Block PEL83, located offshore Namibia. The well encountered light oil and gas-condensate in high-quality reservoir sands, marking a notable development in the region.
According to Galp, the third appraisal well in the block shows promising results, including good porosity, high permeability, and elevated pressures. The well also revealed low viscosity oil, with minimal CO2 and no H2S concentrations. These findings further confirm the extension and quality of the oil and condensate discoveries in the area, the company said in a statement.
Galp, the operator of Block PEL83, along with its partners, will continue analyzing the newly acquired data. The team is also preparing for future activities, including additional exploration and appraisal wells, and a high-resolution 3D seismic survey set to begin in December 2024.
In recent years, many international oil majors have shifted their focus away from Africa’s traditional oil hubs like Nigeria and Angola. Instead, they are increasingly turning to offshore Namibia, seen as a potential new hotspot for oil, drawing comparisons to the oil boom in Guyana.
In the past two years, several major oil companies, including Shell, TotalEnergies, and Galp, have reported significant discoveries off the coast of Namibia. Earlier this year, Galp stated that the Mopane field could hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil in its first phase of exploration.
TotalEnergies and Shell’s recent large-scale discoveries have contributed to what some are calling the “Namibian oil rush,” which began in 2022. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy are expanding their exploration efforts in the Orange Basin, a key offshore region that extends into South African waters.
Last week, QatarEnergy made a move to increase its stake in the Orange Basin by acquiring additional interests from TotalEnergies in two key blocks, 2913B (PEL 56) and 2912 (PEL 91). These developments highlight the growing interest and investment in Namibia’s offshore oil sector.
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