Africa Oil Corp. says its investee company, Impact Oil & Gas Limited, has reported encountering black oil on the Tamboti-1X well in the Orange Basin.
The Tambuti-1X well is within 85m of the net reservoir of lower-quality Upper Cretaceous sandstones belonging to the Mangetti fan system on Block 2913B PEL 56.
Impact has a 9.5% interest in each of Blocks 2912 and 2913B.
These blocks are operated by TotalEnergies (47.2% in Block 2912 and 50.5% in Block 2913B).
Other partners include Qatar Energy (28.3% in Block 2912 and 30% in Block 2913B) and Namcor (15% in Block 2912 and 10% in Block 2913B).
Africa Oil currently has a 39.5% shareholding in Impact, representing an economic interest of approximately 3.8% in the two blocks.
Africa Oil says the drill stem test program was concluded at the Tamboti-1X location, and results from the acquired log, core and DST data are currently under analysis.
Africa Oil president and CEO Roger Tucker said the Venus project is progressing well and is very encouraged by the operator’s public statements on this field’s commerciality and quality.
Tucker said there is also an exciting exploration program with Marula-1X operations underway, and there is a plan to start drilling the Olympe-1X well by the end of 2025. “Through our recent strategic initiatives, we have retained the upside to these assets at no upfront cost, with all of Impact’s share of development and exploration expenditures on the two blocks being covered by TotalEnergies until the first commercial production from Venus,” Tucker said.
On February 3, 2025, the Deepsea Mira spud the Marula-1X exploration well within the southern part of Block 2913B.
The Block 2913B joint venture has indicated that the well will target Albian-aged sandstones within the Marula fan complex and has the potential to unlock further exploration targets across the south, which is an area lying at the heart of the prolific Kudu source-rock kitchen.
The joint venture also expects to drill the Olympe prospect, targeting Albian sands within a structural closure on Block 2912 by the end of 2025.
Block 2913B joint venture is continuing to progress with the proposed development of the Venus Field, with development studies ongoing.
Since the 2022 Venus-1X discovery well, three further wells have successfully penetrated the Venus Field, and four drill stem tests have been successfully carried out. The Venus Field is expected to be the first development area in Block 2913B, producing 150k barrels of oil per day (~45o API oil), with a final investment decision expected by the end of the first half of 2026.
