Third offshore oil discovery

The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), in partnership with Shell and QatarEnergy, announced a light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X deep-water exploration well on Monday.
The well was drilled in Block 2913A & 2914B (PEL 0039) in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia. The drilling operations commenced in December 2022 and were completed in early March this year.
Located approximately 270km off the coast of Namibia in the deep water offshore, the Jonker-1X discovery is the third well drilled on the licence held by Shell within a year. The Odfjell Deepsea Bollsta semi-submersible rig drilled the well to a total depth of 6 168m in a water depth of 2 210m.
The acquired data is currently being evaluated and further appraisal drilling is planned to determine the size and recoverable resources potential of the discovery.
“Namcor would like to congratulate our partners Shell (Operator) and QatarEnergy for safely drilling the Jonker-1X deep-water well,” Executive: Upstream Exploration, Victoria Sibeya, said. “The encouraging results from the well are a geological testimony of the significant hydrocarbon potential in the deep water play of the Orange Basin. We look forward to the appraisal activities and our collaborative relationship with our joint venture partners and our shareholder, the Government of the Republic of Namibia, to fully assess the commerciality of this discovery.”
Commenting on the announcement, Namcor Managing Director Immanuel Mulunga, said: “We are delighted to announce this third oil discovery after the success of the Graff-1X and Venus-1X discoveries by Shell and TotalEnergies in 2022. This discovery has proven the exciting and world-class potential of the deep-water Orange Basin.”
The joint venture comprises Shell Namibia B.V (45%), QatarEnergy (45%) and Namcor (10%).