Woodside Energy, Sintana Energy partner for seismic survey in recent Orange basin oil discoveries

World Oil Staff March 02, 2023

(WO) – Sintana Energy and Woodside Energy have entered into an agreement for Woodside to acquire a 56% Participating Interest in Petroleum Exploration License 87 (“PEL 87”) if the company pays the full cost for a 3D-seismic survey covering an area of at least 5,000 square km within the license area for roughly $35 million.

Woodside will have a period of at least 180 days after the delivery of the seismic survey data to exercise that option.

If Woodside exercises its option, it has agreed to enter a farmout agreement where Woodside will carry the existing joint venture partners during the drilling of the first exploration well to be drilled on the license area after the completion of the seismic survey.

It is anticipated that seismic surveying will start in March 2023 with fast-track processed results expected in late June of this year.

PEL 87, covering an area of 10,970 sq km, hosts the large Saturn turbidite complex on-trend with the recent major oil discoveries made in the Orange Basin, including Total’s Venus-1 discovery and Shell’s Graff-1 and La Rona-1 and recent Jonker-1 (2023) discoveries, which have proven a working light oil system offshore Namibia.

Shell has now commenced a multi-well drilling program with Jonker-1 near the Graff discovery, and Total has announced its intention to deploy half its global exploration budget for 2023 using two rigs to drill further exploration and appraisal wells in the Orange Basin.

Custos Investments (Pty) Ltd. retains a 15% interest in PEL 87 and benefits from this carry and other elements of related farmout and joint operating agreements. Sintana owns an indirect minority interest in Custos.

“The transaction strengthens the positioning of both Custos and Sintana in Namibia. Specifically in an area that has emerged as the exploration hot-spot in recent years, particularly after the recent discoveries by Total Energies and Shell,” said Knowledge Katti, Chairman and CEO of Custos and Director of Sintana.