Exploration

The drill ship Santorini has arrived on location. (Image source: Sintana Energy)

Blocks governed by Petroleum Exploration License 83 (PEL 83), namely 2813A and 2814B, in Orange Basin Namibia has undergone a second exploration and appraisal campaign

The drill ship Santorini has arrived on location, and operations associated with the Mopane 1-A well have commenced. 

This appraisal well is the first of an up to four-well programme potentially consisting of two exploration wells and two appraisal wells. This second campaign on PEL 83 is predicated on providing additional insights into the scope and quality of the Mopane complex. 

Previously, an inaugural two-well exploration campaign that commenced in Q4 2023 resulted in multiple discoveries of significant columns of light oil in high-quality reservoir sands providing for an initial estimate of original oil in place of 10 bn boe. A drill stem test was also conducted resulting in an infrastructure constrained flow of 14,000 boed. 

World class opportunity

Initial analysis suggests the reservoirs have good porosities, high pressures and high permeabilities in large hydrocarbon columns with very low oil viscosity, and no CO2 nor H2S. The flows achieved during the well test have reached the maximum allowed limits, positioning Mopane as, potentially, an important commercial discovery.

“We look forward to the continuing progress on PEL 83, further unveiling of the potential and quality of the Mopane complex. These efforts should provide additional insights into this world class opportunity and into our broader Orange Basin portfolio located at the heart of this emerging hydrocarbon province,” said Robert Bose, CEO of Sintana.

PEL 83 is operated by a subsidiary of Galp Energia. Sintana maintains an indirect 49% interest in Custos Energy, which in turn owns a 10% working interest in PEL 83. The National Petroleum Company of Namibia (NAMCOR), also maintains a 10% working interest. This finding adds to the treasures unveiled from other licenses in the region that host Graff-1, La Rona-1,Jonker-1 and Venus-1.

Approximately 690 ft of hydrocarbons has been discovered. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Chevron Nigeria has announced a near-field oil discovery in Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 49, situated in the shallow offshore region of the Western Niger Delta

Drilled to a depth of 8,983 feet, the Mejji NW-1 well has seen approximately 690 ft of hydrocarbons within Miocene sands. This discovery encourages potential production of up to 17,000 barrels of oil per day.

Chevron operates PML 49 in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company through their joint venture, Chevron Nigeria Limited Joint Venture (NNPC-CNL JV). 

Last month, the partners concluded the conversion of five of its joint venture assets into the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 terms. 

The PIA is designed to safeguard national energy security and profitability even while ensuring investor interests.

Optimisation strategy

Speaking of the discovery, Olusoga Oduselu, general manager, policy government and public affairs at Chevron, said, "This accomplishment is consistent with CNL's intention to continue developing and growing its Nigerian resources, including the onshore and shallow water areas and supports Chevron's broader global exploration strategy to find new resources that extend the life of producing assets in existing operating areas and deliver production with shorter development cycle times."

Gross production at Dussafu during Q3 averaged approximately 27,465 bopd. (Image source: Panoro Energy)

Panoro Energy has reported progress of operations at the Dussafu Marin Permit offshore Gabon

John Hamilton, CEO of Panoro, said, “We are pleased to have safely and successfully delivered the current production drilling campaign at Dussafu, which was expanded to eight wells in order to accommodate fast-track development of the two new discoveries which were announced during May 2024. With five out of the eight wells presently onstream, in addition to the six pre-existing wells at the Tortue field, we are moving to within touching distance of the targeted gross rate of 40,000 bopd from the block. Our current focus is on fully transitioning all the new wells to conventional ESP systems and restoring production at the three shut-in wells, after which we will drill the exciting Bourdon prospect in line with our infrastructure lead exploration and appraisal strategy aimed at unlocking the substantial organic upside that exists on the block.”

Gross oil production at Dussafu during Q3 averaged approximately 27,465 bopd, the highest quarterly rate achieved since start-up of production on the block in 2018. In its half year 2024 results, the company recorded group working interest production at 4,030 bopd from Gabon. 

Following discovery in May of the Hibiscus Northern Flank, the DHIBM-7H production well has successfully been drilled and put onstream with a conventional electrical submersible pump (ESP) system in early October at a rate consistent with previous wells on the block and in line with expectations.

Completion of the DHIBM-7H well concludes the current production drilling campaign at Dussafu which has delivered eight new production wells across the Hibiscus / Ruche area and yielded two new discoveries, adding an estimated 23.1 million barrels of gross 2P reserves.

Next steps

The Borr Norve jack-up drilling rig will next undertake a workover / ESP replacement programme on certain existing wells (for which delivery of all necessary conventional ESP systems and spares has been secured). Upon conclusion of the workover programme all wells will have conventional ESP systems installed, resulting in gross production reaching the targeted 40,000 bopd level by year end.

The Bourdon prospect test well (DBM-1) will be the last rig operation under the current contract in early 2025. The Bourdon prospect has an estimated mid-case potential of 83 million barrels in place and 29 million barrels recoverable in the Gamba and Dentale formations. 

Last year, the company reported a commercial oil discovery from the Hibiscus South well (DHBSM-1).

Panoro holds a 17.5% participating interest in the Dussafu Marin Permit. 

Scatec will own 51% of the equity in the Mogobe BESS project. (SCATEC)

Scatec ASA has reached financial close for one of Africa’s first and largest standalone dispatchable battery energy storage system (BESS) called the Mogobe facility near Kathu, Northern Cape, which is close to high power demand centres

With an estimated capacity of 103 MW / 412 MWh, final preparations are ongoing before the beginning of its construction. Worth US$170mn of capex, the project's engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts that will be covered by Scatec, accounts for approximately 83%. Scatec will also provide operations & maintenance (O&M) as well as asset management (AM) services. 

Scatec will own 51% of the equity in the project with Perpetua Mogobe owning 46.5% and a holding company of the Mogobe Local Community Trust 2.5%. 

“This marks a new milestone for Scatec in South Africa and for the renewable energy transition in the country. The Mogobe BESS project is a first of a kind and reaffirms our standing as a leading renewable energy player in South Africa. We continue to see attractive growth opportunities in the market based on the need for growth in power generation, our strong position in the country and our strong and competent local team,” said Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog.

“We are showing and supporting that dispatchable energy and grid infrastructure are cornerstones to the sustainability of South Africa’s current and future energy system. By unlocking more grid capacity, we are enabling further electricity access, as well as enabling more renewable energy grid connections in years to come,” said Roar Haugland, executive vice-president, sub-Saharan Africa, Scatec.

Financing innovative energy solutions

Mogobe BESS was awarded a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) under the first bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) in South Africa. As part of the PPA, Scatec will receive payments for making the storage capacity available for the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) which will utilise the capacity to balance the grid.

The project will be financed by US$154mn of non-recourse project debt, with the Standard Bank of South Africa as mandated lead arranger, and the remaining by equity from the owners.

“Standard Bank is proud to continue our long-standing partnership with Scatec as the lead arranger for the groundbreaking Mogobe BESS project. This facility represents a significant step forward in South Africa’s energy transition, building on our successful collaboration on projects like Kenhardt. We’re committed to financing innovative energy solutions that drive sustainable development and economic growth in South Africa and across the continent,” said Rentia van Tonder, head of power - corporate and investment banking, Standard Bank of South Africa. 

Incidentally, South Africa remains one of the nine pilot countries – impacted by climate policies – which the European Investment Bank Global will support with its just resilience approach launched during the COP28.