Inspenet, March 9, 2023
The Shell and Qatar Energy consortium announced its third discovery off the coast of Namibia. With the third consecutive major oil discovery in just one year, Namibia has established itself as a great offshore promise.
[post_relacionado]This week, the consortium formed by Shell (45%), Qatar Energy (45%) and Namcor (Namibia’s national oil company), announced the discovery from the Jonker-1X well 270 kilometers offshore.
The drilling was carried out in ultra-deep waters of 2,200 meters and had a total length of 6,168 meters until finding the organic matter sought in that oil system, which now goes to an analysis stage to measure the amount of commercially exploitable crude. For reference, in the two previous drillings a potential of 4,000 million barrels was estimated.
“The encouraging results from the well are geological testimony to the significant deepwater hydrocarbon potential of the Orange Basin. We look forward to the appraisal activities and our collaborative relationship with our partners and our shareholder, the Government of the Republic of Namibia, to fully assess the commercialization of this discovery,” the national oil company said, adding that the discovery “has demonstrated the exciting and world-class potential of the basin.”
This finding excites Argentina
Argentina’s expectation is to find a similar system on the Buenos Aires coast due to the geological similarity that dates from Pangea times when both coasts were united more than 250 million years ago.
According to worldwide experience verified with the cases of Brazil and Guyana, when an important deposit is discovered on the coast of Africa, the South American part that used to be attached to that area usually has the same conditions.
In fact, studies indicate that the Namibian wells were located less than 200 km from the areas that YPF is currently exploring in the North Argentina Basin.
Another relevant fact is that the companies leading this discovery in Namibia, such as Shell and Qatar Energy, also have exploration areas in Argentina, which eases the learning curve due to the experience of operating in similar terrain.
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