88 Energy Plans to Start a 200-Line-Kilometer 2D Seismic Survey in Namibia’s Owambo Basin Mid-Year.
Management says the closures are also supported in part by existing 2D seismic data, in addition to soil gas sampling that validates the existence of a hydrocarbon-producing source rock.
The company says the new seismic data could lead to drilling as soon as the first half of next year as it dials in on prospective closures within its vast 18,500-square-kilometer claim in what is known as “Petroleum Exploration Licence 93 (PEL 93)”. The license sits on the northern border of Namibia and shares a boundary with Angola, an African nation famous for its oil production.
Owambo is one of the globe’s last remaining onshore frontier petroleum basins and has seen an exploration rush of late as companies compete for a maiden resource.
Nearby operator ReconAfrica plans to drill three or four Owambo wells about 200km east of 88 Energy’s ground, with the first expected to spud in the middle of this year. The wells are expected to be placed in prospects defined by two distinct regional plays, focusing on the shallow Karoo and deeper, largely untested Damara formation reservoirs.
88 Energy says that given the depth, modeled maturation, geological age, and geochemical data from wells and seeps, the hydrocarbons in ReconAfrica’s ground are expected to be both light oil and gas, trapped in a series of north-west-trending leads on the Damara fold and thrust belt fairway.
Management says the seismic acquisition on its ground will progress its technical understanding of the site’s geology. Conveniently, the survey has already been paid for as part of the company’s farm-in agreement with Monitor Exploration Namibia to earn an initial 20 percent working interest in PEL 93.
88 Energy says it can earn up to a 45 percent non-operating interest in the ground via its existing three-stage farm-in agreement.
Prior to the company farming in, the Namibian acreage was operated by a joint venture (JV) between Monitor Oil and Gas Exploration Namibia (MELN) with 75 percent, private Namibian company Legend Oil Namibia with 15 percent, and the Namibian Government’s National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) holding the remaining 10 percent.
Now, with the working interest transfer for phase one of the farm-in completed to include 88 Energy in the JV at 20 percent, MELN’s hold has dropped to 55 percent, while the interests of NAMCOR and Legend remain unchanged. MELN will continue as the project’s operator.
ReconAfrica’s drilling efforts in the Owambo Basin, a frontier oil and gas hunting ground with limited historical exploration, will draw significant attention. This anticipation precedes 88 Energy’s upcoming drilling initiative scheduled for next year, highlighting the industry’s focus on Namibia’s potential.
