Prospect I is located onshore Namibia in PEL73. (Image source: ReconAf)

Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd has announced a drilling update on Prospect I

Prospect I is located onshore Namibia in Petroleum Exploration Licence 073 (PEL73) and is the company's largest prospect to be drilled so far. It is targeting 365 million barrels of unrisked and 32 million barrels of risked prospective light/medium oil resources , or 1.9 trillion cu/ft of unrisked and 140 bn cu/ft of risked prospective natural gas resources, on a 100% working interest basis, based on the most recent prospective resources report prepared by Netherland, Sewell, & Associates, Inc. (NSAI), an independent qualified reserves evaluator. Prospect I is noted as location 63 in the NSAI report.

Brian Reinsborough, president and CEO of ReconAfrica said, "We are excited to be making great progress ahead of drilling one of the company's largest and most attractive prospects. The results of the Naingopo exploration well announced in January 2025 increased our confidence in the potential for Prospect I. We remain on track to spud the well this quarter and are looking forward to unlocking the significant potential of the Damara Fold Belt."

Pre-construction activities are continuing on schedule and the pre-drill evaluation is complete. The drilling schematic demonstrates that we are targeting a drilling depth of 3,800 metres with the potential to drill deeper, as we did for the Naingopo exploration well. The thickness of the Otavi section is expected to be approximately 1,500 metres to 1,800 metres depending on how deep we are able to drill. The learnings from the Naingopo exploration well have improved our understanding of the Damara Fold Belt with respect to our geologic model including time and depth migration for the Mulden and Otavi sections. This is the same reservoir where we encountered over 50 metres of reservoir quality carbonates and encountered oil shows in the Naingopo well.

The supplies will be worth US$250mn. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Seamless tubular solutions provider, Vallourec, will be supplying Algeria's national oil and gas company, SONATRACH, with oil country tubular goods (OCTG) threaded with its premium VAM connections that align with the Algerian market standards

To be delivered over this and the following year, the US$250mn worth supplies solidify Vallourec's already strong presence in the region.

These solutions will be manufactured across several Vallourec’s plants in Brazil, China, France, and Indonesia.

Optimising operations

“This notice of award further establishes Vallourec’s leadership in North Africa, a key region for our premium OCTG solutions. SONATRACH’S continued confidence in VAM connections, based on years of successful field performance, highlights the value we bring to its projects. Thanks to our global industrial footprint, we continue to support our customer in optimising their drilling operations while maintaining the highest standards of quality and reliability,” said Laurent Dubedout, senior vice president OCTG, Services and Accessories. 

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The contract services will commence in 2026. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Valaris Limited has been awarded a two-year contract offshore West Africa for drillship VALARIS DS-10

The US$352mn contract is expected to commence late in the second quarter or in the third quarter 2026. The total contract value does not include the provision of additional services, but two unpriced options, each with a duration of one year.

More long-term contracts

President and chief executive officer, Anton Dibowitz, said, “This contract award is a testament to the safety and operational performance of VALARIS DS-10 and its crews, which have an excellent track record of successfully executing clients’ well programmes offshore West Africa. This contract increases our backlog by approximately US$350mn and supports our future earnings and cash flow, and we remain focused on securing additional attractive long-term contracts for our high-specification assets.” 

West Africa has seen enhanced rig activity, with Shelf Drilling and Borr Drilling also announcing contracts since late last year. 

Vitol has been one of the recent entrants to West Africa, acquiring interests worth approximately US$1.65bn. 

The refinery will have a capacity of 60000bopd. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

In a major step to commercialise Uganda's oil and gas resources, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda National Oil Company and the joint venture partner, Alpha MBM Investments have signed an implementation agreement (IA) to kickstart the Uganda Refinery project 

This will include the designing, construction and operation of the 60,000 bopd-capacity refinery to be undertaken in Kabaale, Hoima. Construction is expected to span three years with UNOC and United Arab Emirates-based Alpha MBM as the project partners.

Overseen by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the signing was executed at the State House, in Entebbe.

"We are pleased to have a partner with financial strength, and a solid reputation. Work on the refinery will commence immediately," said Ruth Nankabirwa, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development.

The refinery, which will be East Africa’s first major crude processing plant aims to reduce Uganda’s dependency on imported petroleum products and is expected to meet the local (Ugandan) and regional demand of petroleum (fuel) products.

Besides the refinery, the East African Crude Oil Company (EACOP) is also part of Uganda’s oil and gas commercialisation plan, which recently confirmed progress on project financing.