2017-02-21Staff Report 2 Petrus Muronga Windhoek-An Angolan-based oil firm ACREP which owns a petroleum exploration licence has started with oil exploration in the areas of Gava and Sikarosompo in Kavango West Region. Over the past years oil exploration in Namibia gained a great amount of international interest due to the rise in oil prices but interest started to slow down after oil exploration companies did not discover any oil of commercial value. ACREP, which completed an aerial gravity and magnet survey as well as an environmental assessment study in 2015, will search blocks 1718 and 1818 in the Etosha Sedimentary Basin in the region. According to information provided by the office of the regional governor of Kavango West, a consulting company called Technical Consultants at Risk Based Solutions had a consultative meeting in March 2015 with the regional leadership and community members of Kavango West to provide information on the proposal. A manager from the French-based geophysical services company CGG, Sarmand Nabti, confirmed to New Era yesterday that the company had started exploration work on February 18 but could not go into details, saying he was not at liberty to divulge more information. Last September the company notified the office of the regional governor on the completion of the gravity and magnetic survey and interpretation as well as the completion of the environmental assessment study for the scheduled 120km seismic test survey. The company also notified the regional leadership to inform the local communities about the proposed surveys to ensure they are not surprised when they see movements of people and big trucks that would conduct the surveys. Work will be conducted by CGG through their regional office in Angola. Kavango West Governor Sirrka Ausiku said the regional leadership would support the project throughout its operations. Last month Nabti visited the regional leadership to introduce his supervisor and the rest of the team before the actual start of the exploration work. The governor accompanied the team to the field where the actual work will take place. Early this month the petroleum commissioner in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Maggy Shino, with her team met with ACREP and CGG plus the regional leadership in Nkurenkuru for a final presentation and for the company to inform the commissioner and other stakeholders about the logistics prior to the commencement of the project. 2017-02-21Staff Report 2
