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Shell Is Betting Big On Namibia’s Oil Boom

Editor OilPrice.com

Thu, February 3, 2022,

While all recent oil exploration attention has been on Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) massive string of discoveries in Guyana, another giant player and a junior explorer are shifting to focus toward what may be the next up-and-coming oil hotspot …

It’s Namibia–a country that’s never produced a barrel of oil.

We don’t hear much about new oil discoveries these days. Onshore discoveries are almost unheard of because nearly everything except the African final frontier has been explored. Offshore discoveries are few and far between.

That makes all the exploration activity in Namibia the foundation for another Guyana story–but this time we think there could be a lot more room for investor reward.

Suddenly, Namibia is a growing source of exploration news, with a significant discovery by Shell (NYSE:RDS) offshore and maiden drills by Recon Africa (TSXV:RECO, OTC:RECAF) onshore in the giant Kavango Basin already providing clear evidence of a working petroleum system.

Now, it’s about to get a lot more exciting …

Namibia’s Oil Explosion

Namibia is already turning heads in the oil world. It may have even caught the eye of some of the largest oil exploration companies in the world—and for good reason.

With geological similarities to Brazil and Guyana—the latter having seen astounding oil exploration success—explorers are sinking tons of money into finding and tapping these potential resources.

Namibia’s northern neighbor, Angola, already has a successful oil industry and is a long-time member of OPEC, producing an average of more than one million barrels per day.

Namibia may have the potential to rival this northern neighbor, and with oil prices approaching $90 per barrel, we think it is even more likely that Namibia could become the next big oil and gas player on the global scene.

Shell Namibia

Shell Plc. (NYSE:RDS.A) just stunned us with a discovery announcement at its offshore Graff-1 well in Namibia.

The Graff-1 well results showed at least two reservoirs containing what Reuters sources have called “a significant amount of oil and gas”, which we estimate could be worth up to $29 billion at $88 oil.

Shell’s Namibia discovery is on the Petroleum Exploration License 39, 45% owned by Shell, and 45% owned by Qatar Petroleum. The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) owns the final 10%.

The government of Namibia is expected to make an announcement on the details of Graff-1 next week, while Namibia’s Minister of Energy and Mines said it was in the final stages of data collection to thoroughly assess the find’s potential.

Shell’s success could trigger an increased interest in further exploring the country’s oil resources.

“If successful, Graff-1 could spark significant international investment to a region which has had minimal E&P exploration and production activity over the last 25 years,” IHS Markit analyst Hugh Ew

This current upside action has nothing to do with when Thali is drilled, it's all about Shell's significant discovery and Total's imminent drilling results, and so plenty more upside if either or and both confirm viable commercial discoveries....it will be massive news for all things offshore Namibia.....and then the market is eagerly awaiting farmin completion for Cameroon which will see this fly regardless of when the well will spud, news of which could be very close.....Gla holders...excitement building on several fronts.:-)

Details of Shell's Graff-1 discovery expected tomorrow or Friday, and every chance we could have news on Total's Venus-1 at the same time. Gla :-)

A nice 9m plus late reported by time stamped at 8.07am , definitely a buy at 0.33p, which actually dragged the sp back down at close....all bodes well for continued upward momentum and a sudden and significant re-rate on news. Gla ;-)

Namcor managing director Immanuel Mulunga could not confirm nor deny the discovery yesterday, but told The Namibian that his company, the mines and energy ministry, as well as the two foreign entities, as owners of PEL 39, will make a joint statement on the results of the drilling on or before 4 February.

If such a discovery was made, this could spiral into an investment frenzy in a country that has been dry of foreign direct investments in the last four to five years.

Location of Tower's offshore Namibian Block. Gla :-)

Deepwater turbidites offshore Namibia shown to provide high-quality reservoir sands

Exploration wells operated by HRT during 2012 and 2013 offshore Namibia have significantly reduced the uncertainty on distribution of oil mature Aptian source risk in the Walvis basin Wingat-1 and Murombe-1. Both wells encountered thick Aptian source rock above the Breakup Unconformity.

The Aptian source rock is ubiquitously distributed over the deepwater Walvis basin, although some variation in thickness is evident, as Spectrum mapped two main depocenters divided by a northwest-southeast trending Outer High basement ridge. Above the source rock, there is a significant variation in thickness of Late Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments, which delineates where the Aptian will be mature for oil generation. In the deepwater parts of the basin, the source rock is buried below 3,000 to 3,300 m (9,843 to 10,827 ft) of sediment, pushing the Aptian into the oil window.

Here, a summary of Late Cretaceous high amplitude turbidite sand channels complex play is presented, suggesting a high potential oil discovery in the deepwater Walvis basin is only an up-dip seal away.

The presence of mature oil generative source rock below (and therefore likely to be charging) thick clean quartz rich sands is proven in this basin. All that this basin requires is the proof of trap - an up-dip bypass zone for the deposition of sediment or fault bounded. The hunt for this last risk element is on and the prize will be spectacular.

https://www.offshore-mag.com/geosciences/article/16755987/deepwater-turbidites-offshore-namibia-shown-to-provide-highquality-reservoir-sands

Graff and Venus, will target different reservoir/trap pairs, to clarify what play combination is effective on this margin. Graff-1 will target a Late Aptian/Albian sandy slope hybrid turbidite contourite channel system and Venus-1 will target slightly older sands, in an Aptian base of slope/fan setting. Both targets appear to have an element of stratigraphic trapping.

.......

With each well drilled in the deepwater of Namibia and South Africa we have moved closer to removing the uncertainties that surround the exploration jigsaw puzzle. After the HRT wells we could see for the first time the picture on the ‘exploration puzzle box’ and with these next two wells we will see which reservoir/trap pair will fit with the source rock (or perhaps both will!). Following the example of the Liza discovery in Guyana it is clear that deepwater discoveries are best monetised quickly, so it is expected that success will ignite a surge of activity over the next five years with a string of follow-on exploration interest, to indeed rival the activity that Guyana and Suriname have experienced in the last five years. Good geoscience and ‘brave wells’ have led the way to the start of this race; now it is time to settle into the blocks, get under starter’s orders – and we’re off!

https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2021/11/south-africa-poised-for-exploration-greatness

Get UP there!!! Gla :-)

Big Oil Is Quietly Exploring For More Crude

Jan 31, 2022

The world’s largest oil companies are ramping up drilling operations despite recent net-zero pledges

WoodMac VP for exploration: The majors are still exploring and say much less about it than they used to

With or without the IEA’s roadmap to net zero, this year could see an uptick in new drilling

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Shell struck a potentially major deposit in Namibia earlier his month, according to reports. It wasn’t the company that announced the find. It was Reuters, citing unnamed sources in the know who said the government of the southern African country would make an official announcement this week.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Big-Oil-Is-Quietly-Exploring-For-More-Crude.html

Totalenergies and Shell's drill ships along with support vessels are still in position offshore Namibia at Venus-1 and Graff-1 well sites......all bodes well for confirmation of two game changing discoveries imho......news expected by Friday. Gla ;-)

Maybe quicker than many imagine. Gl :-)

South Africa Poised for Exploration Greatness

Pending the result of two deepwater wells, due to be drilled in late 2021, the Orange Basin offshore South Africa is set to become the world's next hydrocarbon exploration hotspot.

South Africa Poised for Exploration Greatness

South Africa has already astonished the world with its recent discovery of large volumes of gas condensate in its southern Outeniqua Basin. Now, the Orange Basin is poised to erupt as the world’s next exploration hotspot with the drilling of two new paradigm-changing deepwater plays. These two wells are being drilled late in 2021 in Namibia by the border with South Africa. If either is successful, the on-trend extension of these plays will decisively confirm southern Africa’s rightful place in the spotlight of the exploration community.

............

With each well drilled in the deepwater of Namibia and South Africa we have moved closer to removing the uncertainties that surround the exploration jigsaw puzzle. After the HRT wells we could see for the first time the picture on the ‘exploration puzzle box’ and with these next two wells we will see which reservoir/trap pair will fit with the source rock (or perhaps both will!). Following the example of the Liza discovery in Guyana it is clear that deepwater discoveries are best monetised quickly, so it is expected that success will ignite a surge of activity over the next five years with a string of follow-on exploration interest, to indeed rival the activity that Guyana and Suriname have experienced in the last five years. Good geoscience and ‘brave wells’ have led the way to the start of this race; now it is time to settle into the blocks, get under starter’s orders – and we’re off!

https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2021/11/south-africa-poised-for-exploration-greatness

Aim companies normally aren't able to raise funds at a premimium unless there is valuable material news already in the bag, although Towers sp is already 30% higher than their recent £1.5m placing at 0.26p, and will very likely rise significantly higher with more good news from Namibia and Cameroon.....significant UPside if all goes to plan, and a lessoned learned those that sold out on placing news well below 0.3p......that was the time the smart money was mopping UP!!! Gla Holders....A BIG BLUE wekk ahead imho....On and UP!!! ;-)

Totalenergies drill ship, the Maersk Voyager is still positioned at Venus-1 with one supoort vessel and another support vessel heading back to Walvis Bay....all bodes well for news of another significant discovey with any luck.....maybe news early this week in time for the Namibian Governements official announcement, expected by 4th Feb, on the details of Shell's significant discovery at Graff-1, where their drill ship is still positioned. Gla ;-)

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:12.9/centery:-29.6/zoom:9

ps EarlofAim...;-)))

One obvious potential farmin partner now for Tower's Namibian and SA blocks would be Qatar Energy who are partners in Shell's giant discovery and are also partners with Total at Venus-1 ( results imminnent ).......and so bouyed by success, no doubt will be keener than ever to get on with their frontier exploration growth strategy......Watch this Space!!! Gla ;-)

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Overseas expansion of Qatar Energy to continue

Published: 24 Jan 2022

Doha: QatarEnergy is expected to continue its overseas expansion in coming years. The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region will remain a key target for QatarEnergy’s international growth strategy, owing to the availability of exploration acreage in key frontier markets, said Fitch Solutions in a report.

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“We expect the Sub-Saharan Africa region will remain a key target for QatarEnergy’s international growth strategy, owing to the availability of exploration acreage in key frontier markets. Qatar has displayed a strong interest in markets across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa and Namibia,” said the report.

Unfavourable oceanic conditions and ultra-deep-water acreage in both Namibia and South Africa has historically meant exploration is of high-risk, high-cost nature. However, both countries possess substantially underexplored acreage and we expect recent discoveries will help to de-risk future exploration activity in these frontier markets, increasing the appeal for investors like QatarEnergy.

https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/24/01/2022/overseas-expansion-of-qatarenergy-to-continue

Totalenergies drill ship, the Maersk Voyager is still at Venus-1 well site, which all bodes well imho, Shell's drill ship Encos-DS10 ( Valaris-DS10 ) is still in position at Graff-1, both have support vessels in attendence . The drill ships can be viewed at the same time on the marrine traffic map as the drill sites are only 50km or so apart, which suggests that if Shell have hit the mother load, then every chance Total have as well, especially as the Venus-1 is the bigger propsective target.....Gla Holders...Exciting times....news from Total imminent...news from Cameroon soon!!! ;-)

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:13.5/centery:-29.6/zoom:10

This will fly on Cameroon farmin completion, and anything offshore Namibia will be hot hot hot if the Namibian Government official announcement , expected by 4th Feb, confirm a commercial viable discovery by Shell, and Totalenergies Venus-1 results are imminent, another similar discovery will be Transformational for all concerned, and Tower's Namibian and SA assets will become very valuable and highly sort after. Gla holders;-)

14/1/22

Jeremy Asher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are working to finalise the Cameroon farm-out, which both parties wish to see completed, and we are also encouraged by recent news reports of drilling operations underway at Graff-1 and Venus-1X, operated by Shell and TotalEnergies, respectively. However, while waiting for the farmout to complete we must continue to prepare for drilling operations and to maintain the current equipment inventory in a drill-ready state. We also want to keep moving forward in Namibia and South Africa, so that we can capitalise on both the improving economics of our acreage positions and also further positive news around us. This does require us to raise capital at this time, though we continue to seek to keep share issues to a minimum."

850m plus shares traded in the last 3 days!!! Gla holders;-)

Last of the placing shares!!!???

Lol...yeah right, back to reality with your 50m shares....ho ho ho....and you spend all your time undermining your investment....:-))))

$90 plus a barrel...the most perfect storm is brewing for little old Tower. ;-)))

http://www.m.livecharts.co.uk/MarketCharts/brent.php

Lol you numptie, shown your face at long last ho ho ho...where's your know it all mate Charlie boy who stated last week that Shell or Total would not find any oil....ha ha ha....along with your like minded cohorts all of your negative opinion has been wrong....:-)

The Maersk Voyager, Total's drill ship is still located at Venus-1 surrounded by 4 support vessels, which all bodes well with results expected imminent by...Venus-1 is targeting an even bigger prospect than Shell at Graff-1, and if Total confirm a another significant discovery then Tower's Namibia assets will rise in value exponentially and will be in huge demand by prospective partners...Hot Hot Hot and Red Hot!!! Exciting times for those invested. Gla holders ...no one is gettingback in sub 0.3p !!!....Game changing news imminent!!! ;-)