Page 5 - AfrOil Week 06 2022

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

Likewise, Saad al Kaabi, the president and CEO Namibia’s offshore zone.
of QatarEnergy, confirmed the discovery in a On February 7, AIM-listed Tower Resources
company press release dated February 4. “We said that Shell’s find served to reduce the risk
are encouraged by the Graff-1 well results, which associated with exploration in the region, as it
enhance the potential of our exploration acreage “demonstrates conclusively the potential for
in Namibia’s offshore [zone] ... We look forward source rocks in the Namibian offshore to have
to continuing our collaboration with the gov- been buried sufficiently to generate light oil in At least two IOCs
ernment of Namibia on the next steps following substantial quantities.” It also expressed cautious
this discovery,” said al Kaabi, who also serves as optimism about the implications of the Graff-1 have marked
Qatar’s energy minister. discovery for its own work at the PEL 96 licence
Equity in PEL 39 is divided between Shell, area, which lies about 950 km north of Shell’s the discovery
the operator, with 45%; Qatar Energy, with 45%; well in the Walvis Basin. “We now have confir-
and NAMCOR (10%). The partners spudded mation that these source rocks are potentially at Graff-1 by
Graff-1 at a site around 270 km from shore in capable of producing oil in quantities required issuing press
2,000-metre-deep water last December. They to charge substantial reservoirs,” it said.
completed the well earlier this month after being AIM-listed Global Petroleum also described releases touting
drilled to a total depth of 5,376 metres. the find at Graff-1 as a positive development
for its own work at the PEL 94 licence area in the potential
Fast-tracking development the Walvis Basin. Like Tower, it said Shell and
Although NAMCOR and the other shareholders its partners had “demonstrated for the first time of Namibia’s
in the project have not wanted to discuss exactly in the history of Namibian offshore exploration offshore zone
how much oil Graff-1 might contain, other that valid hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs with
observers have put forth their own estimates, viable traps are present and that potentially com-
saying that early analyses indicate the new mercial volumes of oil are capable of migrating
reserves amount to 250mn-300mn barrels of oil into them.” It also said that its own model pre-
equivalent (boe). Those numbers may explain dicted that the petroleum system found in the
why Namibia is keen to fast-track the develop- Orange Basin extended at least 1,000 km north-
ment of PEL 39 and make it the country’s first ward into the Walvis Basin. Additionally, it
producing offshore oilfield. stressed that the Marula and Welwitschia Deep
Maggy Shino, the petroleum commissioner prospects it had identified within PEL 94 might
at Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, told be easier to develop if they contained commer-
Reuters earlier this week that Windhoek wanted cial reserves, as they lay in shallower waters
to bring Graff-1 on stream as soon as possible. and at lower subsurface drilling depths than
She speculated that the new reserves in the Venus-1X, the exploration well TotalEnergies
Orange Basin might begin production as soon has spudded at PEL 56 in the Orange Basin.
as 2026. “If we do this within the next four years,
that will be excellent for us,” she told the news
agency in an interview.
“So as the Namibian government, we have
pledged our commitment to the joint venture
team to walk hand in hand with them ... to
ensure we expedite the field development so
that we can produce as quickly as possible,” she
added.
Shino also stressed, though, that it was too
soon to make any specific predictions as to
whether the new discovery can support a stand-
alone project or whether further exploration in
the area will be required, as NAMCOR expects.
“Give us enough time and by May [or] June, we
be able to have enough data accessed to be able
to confidently let you know about the quantity
we are talking about here,” she told Reuters.
For his part, NAMCOR managing director
Immanuel Mulunga declared that the discovery
ought to attract interest among international
oil companies (IOCs) mulling investments in
Namibia. “We hope that this discovery puts to
rest doubts about the hydrocarbon potential of
Namibia and opens a new dawn in the country’s
future prosperity,” he commented.

IOC excitement
Mulunga and Shino were not the only parties to
express excitement over the discovery at Graff-
1. At least two IOCs marked the occasion by
issuing press releases touting the potential of (Image: Global Petroleum)

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