Shell has spudded what is set to be the final exploration probe of a high-profile drilling campaign offshore Namibia, fresh from completing multiple flow tests on a critical appraisal well on its large Jonker oil discovery in the country’s prolific Orange basin.
The supermajor is coming towards the end of a second multi-well exploration and appraisal adventure on its deepwater acreage Namibian blocks that began in December 2022, following up on its breakthrough Graff-1 and La Rona-1 discoveries in February that year.
Those play opening probes — which helped propel Namibia into the exploration stratosphere — were drilled by the drillship Valaris DS-10, before Shell decided to charter Northern Ocean’s semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Bollsta (via rig manager Odfjell Drilling) for the ongoing campaign.
So far, Shell has tapped some 500 million barrels in recoverable oil reserves in Namibia’s Orange Basin, per the latest government calculations.
But Shell is not the only explorer in the Orange Basin. Portugal’s Galp also struck oil in the area last year, near one of Shell’s discoveries and one made by French TotalEnergies. TotalEnergies itself is drilling around its Orange Basin discovery, Venus, hoping to find more oil. Indeed, it has already struck more oil close to the Venus discovery.