Its just going to be constant here with so much going on folks. Great piece of business SEI getting slice of block next to Rhino just before their campaign starts to get widely publicised.
Chevron and Rhino Resources have filed environmental documents to support what will be two closely watched wildcatting operations offshore Namibia.
The US supermajor and South Africa-based Rhino will fire-up exploration campaigns in the fourth quarter of 2024 or early 2025 on their highly promising acreage in the hydrocarbon-rich Orange basin where, for the first time in around two years, no drilling rigs are currently active.
Chevron is gearing up to drill at least one probe in Block 2813B, north of TotalEnergy-operated acreage that hosts the huge Venus and Mangetti discoveries and west of a licence where Galp Energia recently declared that its Mopane discovery could host in-place resources of 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Rhino plans to drill two probes in Block 2914A, one targeting a prospect called Sagittarius that Namibia’s Petroleum Commissioner Maggy Shino recently described as “one of the most amazing prospects” she had ever seen.
Last week, the Eni-BP joint venture of Azule Energy struck a deal to take a large non-operating stake in a block that lies immediately east of a Shell-controlled licence where it has made five discoveries, and just southeast of Galp’s prolific Mopane discovery.
Draft environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) reports have been submitted to the Namibian government on both drilling plans by SLR Consulting, with both available for public comment.
Interested parties have until 12 June to file comments on Chevron’s plan, while the deadline for Rhino’s ESIA is 3 June.
Chevron has yet to state which prospect it will target first, although exploration sources suggested it will likely opt to drill features with the same geological age as Venus, Mangetti and Mopane.
Shino said Rhino’s first well will be Sagittarius and the second is called Volans, although Azule will need to agree on drilling these targets. Late last month, she said Chevron would spud its first probe in either the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.