Wood is considering another offer for the company, from the Middle Eastern Sidara. Such a sale would likely help Wood access new international markets, but the loss of a FTSE250 company based in Aberdeen will be lamented. Given the challenges of the North Sea, is such a move inevitable?
Exploration is not quite the dirty word it was in 2020-21, but appetite remains muted and highly selective.
Galp is drilling the Mopane 2 well, but Bank of America has raised concerns over the implied valuation, amid fears of a Namibia bubble.
Galp raised the possibility of farming down its stake and bringing in a partner. It currently has an 80% equity position.
“We will continue to drill … because everybody is excited. We have another exploration potential well on the south of Venus and we continue to appraise what has been discovered.”
“The reason we wanted to stay in is in the southern part of the block.” The operator is acquiring 3D seismic on the area, he said, backing up existing 2D seismic.
“We are making ongoing evaluations to determine the exact size of these fields and continuously improve our estimates to determine commerciality.”
It intends to acquire 3D streamer seismic in addition to ocean bottom node (OBN) data. The latter provides “cleaner” data than that gathered by traditional seismic.
Galp will drill Mopane-1X deeper, in order to explore further targets, it said. Once the work is complete, it will relocate the rig to drill Mopane-2X for further evaluation.
Total is gaining a 10.5% stake in Block 2913B and 9.39% in Block 2912. The French company is the operator and has made a number of discoveries in the area, including the giant Venus find.
Success at Mopane would represent a step forward for Namibia’s Orange Basin.
“We intend to continue our back-to-back drilling campaign over the remaining term of the contract by appraising the Jonker discovery and drilling at least one more exploration well.”
FEED work “could facilitate” a final investment decision (FID) on Preowei, Africa Oil, said.
The block is to the north of Block 2913B, where TotalEnergies has made discoveries including Venus.
The company holds Block 2914B, next to Shell’s Block 2914A. Galp is to the north, at PEL 83, where it intends to begin drilling on the Mopane complex this month.
Total plans to drill one exploration well. Should it be successful, it may drill up to nine more.
“The significant prospectivity of PEL 83 together with its relatively shallower water depth, position it to be one of the most significant and profitable developments in the Orange Basin,” he added.
“For me, it’s easier to develop offshore projects than onshore projects. Onshore there are stakeholders, who are more complex to manage.”
“Unless Namibia puts together a narrative to win the energy transition war, [the country’s] oil will remain in the ground.”
“We have a very strategic position in the basin,” Eco CEO Gil Holzman said this week. “Block 3B/4B is exactly on trend with Graff and Venus”, Shell and Total’s finds respectively.
Mantashe made it clear that he blamed foreign-funded NGOs for the slow process of development. “They block development in our country”.
Eco Atlantic has begun the regulatory process of applying for an exploration well offshore South Africa in the Orange Basin.
Shell spudded the Jonker well in December. “I’m not saying anything apart from to say it is going well, it is going very well,” Shino said to applause.
South Africa is dusting off seismic plans once more as it aims to launch a licensing round, following the passage of long delayed upstream laws.
Chevron has completed its farm in to a licence offshore Namibia, close to the Venus and Graff discoveries by TotalEnergies and Shell respectively.