Shell is looking with keen interest at Galp Energia’s huge Mopane oil discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin to see what it can learn about prospectivity on its own exploration block immediately to the south, as it continues to grapple with its “complex” discoveries.
Galp reported within the last week that Mopane holds in-place resources of 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent, after intercepting oil in three reservoirs.
The Portuguese player did not identify the age of these reservoirs but revealed enough to conclude that at least one of these plays appears to be prolific in terms of its production capacity.
Chief executive Wael Sawan says neighbour’s Mopane find offers ‘excellent data point’ for Orange basin players.
Last month, Shell has confirmed the presence of oil deposits at the Enigma-1X well offshore Namibia.
In late February 2024, Shell commenced drilling operations using Northern Ocean’s Deepsea Bollsta drilling rig as part of the firm’s Petroleum Exploration Licence 39 in Namibia. This discovery represents Shell’s fifth in the region, adding to previous successes including the Graff-1X, La Rona, Jonker-1X, and Lesedi-1X discoveries.