Woodside Energy has entered into an exclusive Option Deed to enter into PEL 87 offshore Namibia, a deep-water block located north of recent discoveries made by TotalEnergies and Shell in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia.
The License was awarded to Australian junior Pancontinental Energy in 2018. Since then, the company mapped a very large Saturn Turbidite Complex that may host several large internal hydrocarbon traps, some of which it has already mapped on 2D seismic.
The deal reached with Woodside Energy provides for Woodside Energy to fund a $35m 3D seismic campaign over 5,000 km2 in addition to a cash payment of $1.5m to Pancontinental. In return, Woodside Energy has an exclusive option to become operator of PEL 87 with a 56% interest. Shall the company decide to exercise its farm-in option, it will drill the first exploration well and carry Pancontinental at 20% interest.
Exploration activity is growing offshore Namibia where both Shell and TotalEnergies have rigs mobilized there for exploratory and appraisal drilling this year. Last October, Chevron entered PEL 90 just adjacent to PEL 87 and north of TotalEnergies’ Venus-1 discovery.
The deal gives Woodside Energy the opportunity to grow its exploration portfolio in Africa after it entered Congo-Brazzaville in 2018. The operator is also in the process of commissioning the Sangomar Offshore Oil Project in Senegal with a projected peak production of 100,000 bopd.