Drilling on Venus oil well discovery off Namibian coast to start end of Feb.

 


Impact Oil & Gas Limited says it will start drilling four wells off the Namibian coast in the Orange Basin on Block 2913B and 2912 by the end of February.

The UK-based company holds a 20% working interest in Block 2913B under petroleum exploration licence 56, operated by TotalEnergies EP Namibia B.V (40%), QatarEnergy (30%) and NAMCOR (10%).

It also holds an 18.89% working interest in the adjacent Block 2912 under petroleum exploring licence 91 with TotalEnergies (37.78%), QatarEnergy (28.33%) and NAMCOR (15%).

Block 2912B is where TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy announced the Venus well discovery in early 2022.

The Venus discovery is a world-class light oil and associated gas field, approximately 290 kilometres off southern Namibia's coast and in a water depth of roughly 3,000 metres. 

The well was drilled to a total depth of 6,296 metres by the Maersk Voyager drillship and encountered a high-quality light oil-bearing sandstone reservoir of Lower Cretaceous age.

The multi-well drilling programme targets Venus-1A, Venus-1X on Block 2913B and Nara-1A and Nara-1X on Block 2912.

The company said it would use the Tungsten Explorer drillship before deploying the Deepsea Mira for a drill stem test and conduct a flow test. 

According to the company, Block 2912 may contain a highly material westerly extension of the Venus field. 

Operations by TotalEnergies during 2023, on behalf of the Joint Venture, are designed to explore and, if successful, test this potential extension of the Venus accumulation into Block 2912 and provide an understanding of the structure and reservoir quality, the company further said.

The exploration well Nara -1X will be drilled and flow tested by the Tungsten Explorer, and, if successful, an appraisal well, Nara -1A, will then be drilled and flow tested.

Impact chief executive officer Siraj Ahmed said the drilling programme would provide vital information that could enable the joint venture to press ahead with development.

"We are excited to see both the Tungsten Explorer and the Deepsea Mira embark on this extensive drilling programme, designed to accelerate the appraisal of the Venus field and drill the first exploration well in our neighbouring licence, Block 2912. This programme will provide vital information that will hopefully enable the joint venture to press ahead with development," Ahmed said.

Impact exploration director Phil Birch said the work programme seeks to prove the flow potential of the Venus reservoir and investigate a potential material extension into the adjacent licence.

"If successful, it will result in two potentially fully appraised early production centres, one on Block 2913B and the second on Block 2912," he added. 

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