88 Energy Limited has started the 2D seismic data acquisition program for PEL 93 on Blocks 1717 and 1817 in the Owambo Basin in Namibia.
The program has been designed to acquire approximately 200-line km of 2D seismic data, which will be integrated with existing historical exploration data to refine current prospect interpretation.
The data will be used to quantify the size of the prospective resource through a certified prospective resource estimate and identify future potential drilling locations.
Polaris Natural Resources Development Ltd won the contract to conduct the 2D seismic acquisition program on May 10, 2024.
The program is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2024, with data processing anticipated to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The subsurface investigations completed from 2018 to date by Monitor Exploration included a range of geophysical and geochemical techniques to assess and validate the significant potential of the acreage.
This included airborne gravity and magnetics, reprocessing of existing 2D seismic coverage, and measuring methane and ethane concentrations in soil samples over-interpreted structural leads to successfully validate the existence of an active petroleum system. Passive seismic anomalies from this work aligned closely to both interpreted structural leads and measured soil alkane molecule concentrations.
Initial exploration in the Owambo Basin focused on the shallow Karoo Play, with recent attention turning to the substantial potential of the deeper and largely untested Damara Play.
The Damara Play resulted from a large fold and thrust episode, leading to large, anticlinal structures providing significant independent targets for exploration of an equivalent size to those discovered offshore Namibia.
An exploration renaissance is underway in the region, with approximately 88% of recent offshore wells having successfully discovered oil.
Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd plans to spud the first of four planned wells within the Karoo and Damara as part of an initial exploration drilling campaign in PEL 73 and PEL 1 on the flanks of the Owambo basin.
The Damara Play is characterised by several coherent, mappable, large fold and thrust structures, which generated 19 prospects and four leads certified by third-party resource auditor Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc.
The target structures observed are up to 25km long and between 3 and 5km wide.
Reservoirs are expected to be encountered in both the marine/fluvial sandstones of the Mulden formation and the fractured carbonates of the Otavi Supergroup.
The Otavi group was penetrated in well 6-2 and contained oil shows on mud logs and oil saturations in side-wall cores.
The Pre-Rift Karoo play interval is interpreted as late Neo-Proterozoic to Early Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks, which are analogous to the sediments of the Owambo Basin to the west.
Given their depth, modelled maturation, geological age and geochemical data from wells and seeps, the hydrocarbons are expected to be light oil and gas.
PEL 93 covers 18,500 km2 of underexplored sub-surface within the Owambo Basin in Namibia.
88 Energy, through its wholly-owned Namibian subsidiary, holds a 20% working interest in PEL 93, with an option to earn up to 45% non-operated interest via additional staged farm-in activities.
