Sintana Energy Inc and its partners have secured an extension for an exploration licence for Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 83 from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The development means the Toronto Stock Exchange-listed petroleum and natural gas exploration company and its partners will now move to drill an exploration well in PEL 83 in the Orange basin, offshore Namibia next year.
PEL 83 sits directly above Block 2913A, where Shell plc made its Graff-1 light oil discovery, and directly to the west of Kudu Gas field currently being developed by BW Energy. The block is also contiguous to Block 2913B where TotalEnergies made its Venus-1 discovery.
Businessman Knowledge Katti, a founder of Custos Energy and a Director of Sintana, said the companies are looking forward to making significant oil discoveries.
“It is fantastic to see the activity and interest catch up around us. We expect significant discoveries will continue to be made, on our blocks and on those around us,” said Katti in a company release.
Sintana has 4.9% carried interest through its indirect investment in Custos Energy, with Galp Energy SGPS SA being the operator of PEL 83 with a 80% interest, National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) 10% and Custos Energy 10%.
Sintana also has a carried interest in the blocks 2813A and 2814B which are operated through PEL 83 and indirect interests in the adjacent blocks operated through PEL 90 and PEL 87.
Sintana President & Director Robert Bose said the Canada-based company’s entry into Namibia was timely.
“We believe that continuing investment in the Orange Basin, including the drilling of an exploration well on PEL 83, will further substantiate Namibia’s emergence as the world’s next great hydrocarbon province.
“We look forward to further activity and announcements in the near-term,” he said.
Galp conducted a 3D seismic campaign in the PEL83, comprising an area of around 3,000 km2 in Namibia’s deepwater offshore in early 2019.
The increased interest in Namibia exploration activities comes after NAMCOR and its partners, Shell Namibia Upstream B.V and Qatar Energy, are said to have discovered a working petroleum system for light oil in the Orange Basin, 270 km from the town of Oranjemund, where drilling operations commenced in early December 2021 and were safely completed in early February 2022.
The company’s other partners, TotalEnergies, alongside QatarEnergy, and Impact Oil and Gas have also announced the Venus-1X discovery, located approximately 290 kilometres off the coast of Namibia, in the deep-water offshore exploration Block 2913B, which covers approximately 8,215 km².
According to the Namibia Petroleum Operators Association (NAMPOA), exploration companies have sunk in over N$30 billion in the country since independence searching for commercially viable oil finds
