South Africa: TotalEnergies Prepares Drilling Campaign For 7 Wells Offshore

TotalEnergies is proposing to drill up to 7 exploration wells offshore South Africa, in the Orange Basin straddling South African and Namibian waters in southwest Africa.

With the planned campaign offshore South Africa, which still needs environmental authorization, the French supermajor looks to tap potentially more resources in the Orange Basin after making a substantial discovery, Venus, in the same basin offshore Namibia.

“We have some attractive licenses just across the border, and we have actually two or three prospects. We are working in South Africa, and the process to get all the authorizations is quite lengthy, but we hope to begin drilling South African targets in 2026,” TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné told analysts on the Q2 earnings call last month.

The supermajor is in talks with Namibian authorities for terms to develop the Venus prospect, Pouyanné added, noting that negotiations are taking time due to Namibia’s limited experience in the oil industry.

Last month, Shell received environmental authorization to drill up to five deepwater wells to explore for oil and gas off South Africa’s west coast.

Both Shell and TotalEnergies have made significant discoveries offshore Namibia in the Orange Basin, which spans South African and Namibian waters.

The basin extends into South African waters, and the majors are now looking to tap into these areas, hoping to find substantial resources similar to those in the Namibian portion.

However, bureaucratic delays and court challenges have hindered offshore exploration in South Africa. While South Africa struggles to establish a domestic exploration and production sector, Namibia is considering additional incentives and financing options to attract international oil majors.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com