Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas, a London AIM and Toronto Stock Exchange-listed exploration company, is shifting its focus in the Walvis Basin to reservoirs beyond 1,000 to 1,500 metres to find significant oil reserves.
Chief Executive Officer Gil Holtzman said the company is preparing to conduct seismic surveys to identify drilling targets to unlock untapped potential in deeper waters after the company has “been receiving considerable interest in their Walvis Basin blocks”.
The company holds four offshore blocks in Namibia’s Walvis Basin, attracting significant industry interest. Therefore, this strategic shift aligns with Eco Atlantic’s aim to create value through exploration and partnerships with major corporations, said Holtzman.
“We hold four offshore blocks in the Walvis Basin, which is increasingly attractive to larger companies looking to expand their acreage and explore in deeper waters. The focus is shifting towards reservoirs beyond 1,000 to 1,500 metres in water depth, where most of the significant oil reserves are likely to be found. We’ve been receiving considerable interest in our Walvis Basin blocks, and we’re gearing up for seismic surveys to pinpoint drilling targets,” he said during an interview with Proactive’s Stephen Gunnion.
Similarly, in South Africa’s Orange Basin, Holtzman said they are working in collaboration with Africa Oil and a local company, Ricocure, to attract reputable partners for drilling.
“We are making progress in this regard and anticipate an active year in the Orange Basin in 2024, with several wells to be drilled. We are diligently advancing the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) process, making us well-prepared for the upcoming drilling phase,” he said.
Eco Atlantic holds eight licences, stretching from Guyana on one side of the Atlantic margin to Namibia and Orange Bays in South Africa.
“Our primary objective is to create significant value for our shareholders by making exploration discoveries and forming partnerships with major companies to realise the full potential of our licences,” the CEO noted.
This comes at a time when Namibia’s oil prospects and favourable fiscal incentives have been attracting oil majors, including TotalEnergies, Galp, Shell, QatarEnergy, Chevron and ExxonMobil.
In the Walvis Basin, the Wingat-1 discovery, drilled by HRT in 2013, encountered rich oil-bearing source rocks, recovering light and sweet crude oil. In the Orange Basin, two multi-billion-barrel discoveries made in 2022 by Shell and TotalEnergies have led to increased exploration and appraisal drilling activities this year.
In Namibia, Eco holds an Operatorship and an 85% Working Interest in four offshore Petroleum Licences: PELs: 97, 98, 99, and 100, representing a combined area of 28,593 square kilometres in the Walvis Basin.