BW Energy chief executive officer Carl Arnet says they could start drilling at the Kudu gas project in early 2025.
The Kudu gas discovery is in the northern Orange sub-basin, approximately 130 km off the southwest coast of Namibia.
It is situated in Petroleum Production License 003, which has an area of 4,567 square kilometres.
The field water depth is approximately 170 metres.
Kudu-1 discovered the field in 1974, and seven subsequent wells delineated it.
BW Energy entered into a farm-in agreement for a 56% operated interest in early 2017, with Namcor holding a 44% joint venture interest.
In 2021, BW Energy signed a Farm-up agreement with NAMCOR, increasing the company’s interest to 95% in the license, and closed the transaction.
The company, which released its 2024 first quarter results on May 24, said it is progressing the revised development plan for the gas-to-power project and analysing data from the 3D seismic survey completed in May 2023.
According to the company, the revised development concept offers tangible financial, schedule, and environmental benefits.
Additionally, BW Energy said reusing existing facilities substantially reduces field development-related greenhouse gas emissions compared to a newly built facility.
“Interpretation of the initial data has enhanced the depositional model and de-risked potential targets with additional prospects identified, and the company continued the work on securing long-lead items for a future exploration program,” BW Energy said in the report.
Although BW Energy signed an agreement to purchase the semi-submersible drilling rig West Leo from Aquadrill LLC, which is targeted for use in Kudu in the first quarter of 2022, its CEO said they were talking with other operators about hiring a rig.
Speaking in the company’s first-quarter conference call after the results, Arnet said the company had secured long-lead items for a 2025 exploration campaign.
According to Arnet, increased drilling activity within the Orange Basin has improved rig availability.
“Our discussions with other operators in the Orange basin have been very productive.
“We may access drilling capacity sooner than expected. We aim to start as early as 2025,” Arnet said.
