On Monday evening, Shell, QatarEnergy, and Namibia’s state oil company NAMCOR announced the discovery of light oil in a deepwater exploration well drilled off the coast of the West African country. The Jonker-1X exploration well revealed the presence of a reservoir containing light oil during drilling operations, and further appraisal activities will be required to determine the size and recoverable potential of the oil discovery using dynamic data gathering.
Light crude oil is generally preferred to the heavier comparative as heavy oil has a high viscosity and cannot flow easily, whereas light oil has a low viscosity and can flow freely.
Dennis Zekveld, Shell’s Country Chair in Namibia, expressed his enthusiasm for the discovery, noting that it was the Joint Venture’s third deep-water discovery in Namibia and demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing oil and gas exploration in the country.
“We are encouraged by a further deep-water discovery, our third in Namibia, and pleased to confirm the safe conclusion of the well. Jonker again demonstrated the Joint Venture’s strong commitment to advancing oil & gas exploration in Namibia and to progressing follow-up opportunities after last year’s discoveries,” said Dennis Zekveld, Shell’s Country Chair in Namibia.
Last year, Shell and its partners made a large discovery in the same basin, the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia. Shell operates the PEL 0039 license in the Orange Basin, with a 45% working interest, while QatarEnergy holds another 45%, and Namibia’s NAMCOR holds the remaining 10%.
TotalEnergies, a French supermajor, also made a significant discovery of light oil with associated gas on the Venus prospect in the Orange Basin early last year. TotalEnergies said in an investor presentation last September that Venus in Namibia could be a “giant oil and gas discovery,” with appraisal and testing scheduled for 2023. The major discoveries offshore Namibia could potentially make it the next oil-producing nation.
Namibia’s petroleum commissioner, Maggy Shino, stated in October that Namibia might consider joining OPEC if recent offshore oil discoveries are large enough for commercial development. Namibia is Angola’s southern neighbor, which is a member of OPEC.
Namibia hopes that major oil discoveries could help it double its economy in the next two decades, with the country’s economy presently valued at roughly $11 billion.
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Source: Oilprice.com (Tsvetana Paraskova)
