Australia-headquartered oil and gas company, Global Petroleum Limited, has received approval from the Ministry of Mines and Energy to proceed with the first renewal period (FRP) for its Walvis Basin license, PEL 94.
The work commitment for the FRP, which spans two years from September 2023 to September 2025, entails acquiring, processing, and interpreting 2,000 km of 3D seismic data carried over from the current initial exploration period (IEP).
Additionally, the commitment includes drilling a well contingent upon the results of the interpretation of the 3D seismic data.
“We are delighted to enter the next phase of PEL 94 with its promising potential and the flexibility offered by a two-year term, benefiting both us and our partners. We extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Mines and Energy for their support,” said Global Petroleum’s CEO, Peter Hill.
According to standard provisions in the Petroleum Agreement, the Australian company and its partners are required to provide a guarantee at the outset of each main phase of the license, including the FRP.
The guarantee is tied to the specified minimum exploration expenditure, representing the firm work commitment for the FRP (the cost of the 3D Seismic interpretation).
The exact amount of this guarantee will be mutually agreed upon by Global and the Ministry, and it has previously been negotiated as a low percentage of the Minimum Exploration Expenditure (MEE).
Global Petroleum also announced that the Mines Ministry has waived the usual obligation to relinquish 50% of the license area at the conclusion of the IEP.
This means that upon entering the FRP, Global and its partners retain the entire prospectivity of the license, including both primary prospects, Marula and Welwitschia Deep, along with the leads identified by the Company in the eastern part of the license.
The decision to grant a two-year FRP term, rather than the initially expected one-year extension to the IEP, coupled with the relinquishment requirement waiver, is viewed as a successful outcome by Global Petroleum.
The development is also anticipated to significantly bolster the Company’s ongoing farmout campaign.
Global Petroleum holds a 78% participating interest in PEL 94 within Block 2011A in the Walvis Basin, located offshore Namibia, encompassing an area of 5,798 square kilometers with water depths ranging from 450 meters to 1,550 meters. The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) possesses a 17% carried interest, while a private company, Aloe Investments Two Hundred and Two, holds a 5% carried interest in the license.
Notably, the Venus-1X and -1A wells of TotalEnergies, along with Shell’s Graff-1, La Rona-1, and Jonker-1 wells, are situated in the southern offshore region of Namibia, approximately 1,000 kilometers south of Global’s PEL 94 license.
