ReconAfrica ready for oil hunt in 2024
Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) continues to advance activities in preparation for its drilling programme planned in the Cubango Okavango River Basin next year.In an operational update published on its website, ReconAfrica said these activities include land access work, community engagement, demining tasks, as well as key equipment and services procurement.
The ministry of environment, forestry and tourism has approved “minor amendments” to ReconAfrica’s environmental clearance certificate. These adjustments aim to accurately capture the designated locations for the planned drilling wells, the Canadian-based exploration company said.
“The company is undertaking activities to have a well pad ready for drilling to commence in late Q1 2024 [first quarter 2024] in each focus basin, an oil targeted well in the Rift Basin and a gas-focused well in the Damara Fold Belt,” ReconAfrica said.
“Some recent basin modelling work undertaken by our technical team has increased the potential for some parts of the Damara Fold Belt to be more oil prone than previously expected,” it added.
Licence
As part of the approval for the second renewal exploration period by the ministry, announced at the end of October, ReconAfrica requested and has been granted a relinquishment exemption based on the provisions of Namibia’s Petroleum Act.
“The request was based on the company's belief following the evaluation of acquired subsurface data over the past three years that a significant portion of the PEL 73 will be prospective for the exploration of oil and gas. As a result, the company does not have to relinquish any of the acreage and retains access to the entire licence covering approximately 6.3 million acres in northeast Namibia,” ReconAfrica said.
The second renewal exploration period starts on 30 January 2024, extending through to 29 January 2026, with options for extensions and an additional exploration period available under the Petroleum Act.