Sintana Energy, a public Canadian oil and gas exploration company focusing on Africa and South America, is preparing to commence a four-well drilling programme targeting the Mopane complex in the Orange Basin off the Namibian coast. 

Sintana’s drilling campaign, which follows earlier oil discoveries in the vicinity, will investigate developing the oil and gas resources on behalf of the operator of the licence, Galp Energia, a multi-national energy corporation based in Portugal. 

The Mopane discovery is estimated to hold reserves of about 10 billion barrels of oil. Since the discovery, Galp’s shares have increased in value by almost 20% for the year-to-date. However, Galp recently launched a reassessment of its decarbonisation objectives, which have been somewhat compromised due to its intent to develop the Orange Basin resource. 

In a recent interview with an online publication, Sintana chief executive officer Robert Bose explained the upcoming drilling campaign, anticipated to kick off in November, which he said will involve both exploration and appraisal drilling. 

Bose returned from the Pareto Energy Conference in Oslo last week, which is Europe’s largest independent energy conference. 

“It’s truly amazing in terms of scale and scope, with close to 2 000 attendees. It had record attendance for the second year in a row. Despite market turbulence, the conference had a constructive perspective on the oil and gas business, and Sintana had great interest from investors. We had many one-on-one meetings and a full room for our presentation. It was a tremendous opportunity to focus everyone on what’s ahead for us in the next few quarters, and we are excited about what we see,” said Bose.  

He added that the Galp drilling will entail a four-well programme at the end of November. 

“It’ll focus on the Mopane complex, where we made earlier discoveries. This programme includes two exploration locations and appraisal drilling to better assess the reservoir’s quality. And, crucially, no capital is required from us,” said Bose. 

Meanwhile, another multi-national, Chevron Corporation is getting ready for its own drilling campaign on an adjacent licence in the Orange basin. Chevron will be using the Deepsea Bollsta rig.

“Next door, we have a partnership with Chevron Corporation. They have been very active, having conducted a US$40 million 3D seismic survey over the block. Chevron is preparing for its first drilling campaign in Namibia, set to begin in November with the Deepsea Bollsta rig, which is already in Namibia,” said Bose. He added that like the Galp drilling campaign, no capital is required from Sintana. 

Furthermore, Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras has apparently expressed interest in acquiring a 40% stake in the Mopane oil and gas exploration block put up for sale by Galp. This was reportedly stated by a Petrobras director last week. Petrobras would need the full 40% stake to operate the Orange basin oil field, the Petrobras director allegedly stated. 

“Other operators are also busy. TotalEnergies is drilling an exploration well near our lease line, and companies like Rhino and BW Energy are conducting 3D seismic surveys and planning exploration drilling. It’s going to be a busy few quarters ahead, much like where we were last year,” said Bose. 

Noting an increased global interest in he and gas, driven by underinvestment in exploration and a lack of capital in recent years, Bose said the focus on energy security, especially for developing regions like Africa, has become more significant. 

“Large-scale resources like ours are going to be essential, and that’s reflected in the growing interest from investors and operators globally,” said Bose.