ReconAfrica says major civil works are underway at the first Damara Fold Belt well, the Naingopo Prospect, including site access roads and well pad construction.
The drilling is set for June 2024.
On April 3, 2023, the company identified a new fold belt province, the Damara Fold Belt, within PEL 73 in the Kavango Basin.
The Naingopo exploration well is targeting 163 million barrels of unrisked prospective oil resources or 843 billion cubic feet of unrisked prospective natural gas resources based on the most recent prospective resources report prepared by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. dated March 12, 2024.
The well is expected to be drilled to a depth of approximately 12,500 feet or 3,800 meters and is projected to encounter four primary reservoir intervals targeting oil and natural gas.
ReconAfrica says drilling crew members have arrived in the country to undertake rig maintenance and certification activities ahead of the move of the Jarvie-1 rig to the Naingopo well.
Additionally, ReconAfrica says the drilling and operations teams, including all significant third-party service providers, have completed drilling on-paper activity, and all critical path processes have been reviewed and tested.
“All major equipment has been ordered in the country or transit to Namibia,” the company says, adding that the well remains scheduled to begin drilling in June 2024.
Following the drilling of the Naingopo well, ReconAfrica is planning to drill a second Damara Fold Belt well, Prospect P, targeting 278 million barrels of unrisked prospective oil resources, or 1.5 trillion cubic feet of unrisked prospective natural gas resources, based on the NSAI Report.
According to the company, debushing activities will begin soon at Prospect P and will be followed by demining activities before major civil works are started.
The Prospect P well is expected to be spud in the fourth quarter of 2024, soon after drilling the Naingopo exploration well.
ReconAfrica CEO Brian Reinsborough said operations teams and contractors are working diligently to ensure we remain on schedule for a June 2024 spud of the high-potential Naingopo, the first exploration well in the Damara Fold Belt.
“Our drilling teams are now in Namibia with the Jarvie-1 drilling rig undergoing routine maintenance and certification ahead of its planned move to the well location in the first week of June 2024,” Reinsborough said.
He said advanced planning work has also commenced for our second Damara Fold Belt exploration well, Prospect P.
“Excitement is building ahead of drilling as recent investor meetings in London and industry conferences have highlighted the significance of the Naingopo well given the large potential for oil and gas resources,” he said.
According to Reinsborough, with the completion of our recent financing, we are well positioned to execute our drilling plans going forward.
“And finally, we have progressed our joint venture process to the next level of negotiation, as we are in advanced discussions with potential joint venture partners and expect to conclude negotiations in the coming weeks,” he added.
