Namcor announces third oil discovery in Namibia

The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) on Monday announced a light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X deep-water exploration well, located approximately 270 kilometres off the Namibian coast.

The joint venture group is made up of Namcor with 10 per cent, QatarEnergy with 45 per cent, and Shell Namibia B.V. with 45 per cent.

Namcor in a media statement said the well was drilled in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia, in Blocks 2913A & 2914B (PEL 0039). Drilling operations started in December 2022 and were successfully completed in early March 2023.

The Jonker-1X discovery is the third well drilled on the licence held by Shell in the past 12 months.

The well was drilled by the Odfjell Deepsea Bollsta semi-submersible rig.

The statement said the acquired data is being assessed, and additional appraisal drilling is scheduled to estimate the discovery’s size and potential for recoverable resources.

“Namcor would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our partners Shell (Operator) and QatarEnergy for safely drilling the Jonker-1X deep-water well. The encouraging results from the well are geological testimony of the significant hydrocarbon potential in the deep-water play of the Orange Basin. We look forward to the appraisal activities and our collaborative relationship with our joint venture partners and our shareholder, the Government of the Republic of Namibia, to fully assess the commerciality of this discovery,” Namcor Executive: Upstream Exploration, Victoria Sibeya was quoted as saying in the statement.

Namcor Managing Director Immanuel Mulunga said: “We are delighted to announce this third oil discovery after the success of the Graff-1X and Venus-1X discoveries by Shell and TotalEnergies in 2022. This discovery has proven the exciting and world-class potential of the deep-water Orange Basin.”

Source: The Namibian Press Agency