Africa Energy to commence exploration drilling on Block 11B/12B offshore South Africa
Africa Energy announced it expects to commence an extremely active and potentially transformational period with spud of the Luiperd-1 well on Block 11B/12B offshore South Africa, where it holds an effective 4.9% interest.
Garrett Soden, the Company's President and CEO, commented: "We are excited to begin the next phase of exploration drilling on Block 11B/12B offshore South Africa with spud of the Luiperd-1 well this month. Luiperd is the largest prospect in the Paddavissie Fairway and has been de-risked by the nearby Brulpadda discovery and subsequent 3D seismic work."
The recent $25.0 million financing and farmout of Block 2B will allow the Company to participate in several high-impact exploration wells offshore South Africa over the next 12 months. The planned wells are all targeting material prospects with relatively high chances of success.
The Block 11B/12B joint venture operated by Total has embarked on an ambitious exploration program offshore South Africa to follow-up on the large Brulpadda gas condensate and light oil discovery in February 2019. The fully-processed Polarcus 3D dataset confirms the resource potential of the Paddavissie Fairway. The expanded Shearwater 2D seismic survey is complete, and the onboard fast-track processing has identified prospectivity with encouraging seismic indicators across the new Kloofpadda Play Trend to the east. The PGS 3D seismic survey is also complete after being expanded to cover a newly identified potential northern extension to the Luiperd Prospect. The Luiperd-1 well is expected to spud in August 2020 and will target a large submarine fan prospect within the same sequence as Brulpadda.
Management looks forward to closing the Block 2B farmouts whereby the Company will be carried through the next exploration well, Gazania-1, expected to spud in the first quarter of 2021. Block 2B has significant contingent and prospective resources in shallow water close to shore and includes the A-J1 discovery from 1988 that flowed light sweet crude oil to surface. The Gazania-1 well will target two prospects in a relatively low-risk rift basin oil play up-dip from the discovery.
