Companies will acquire about 8,000 line km of 2D seismic data and 400 sq km of 3D seismic data off Namibia during the next few months, the Ministry of Mines & Energy said.
The government accepted applications for three second round licenses.
Shell Namibia Exploration BV received Areas 2313A and 2313B about 120 km southwest of Walvis Bay (see map, OGJ, Sept. 5, 1994, p. 125).
The present holders of the Kudu license, Shell and Energy Africa Kudu Ltd., applied for a license on blocks 15 and 16 of Area 2814B. The government incorporated these with the existing Kudu license, but the blocks have their own work program. Texaco Namibia Resources Ltd. has taken a farmout on the Kudu license.
Companies acquired 21,700 line km of 2D and 300 sq km of 3D seismic and drilled five wildcats on the five first round licenses. No flowing hydrocarbons were found, but good oil prone source rocks were encountered in the Walvis basin. The Kudu wells found good source rocks in the Orange basin.
Seismic work on Kudu suggests that gas reserves may be significantly greater than the 2 tcf determined from the Kudu 3 well.
The ministry also updated progress on first round licenses.
Norsk Hydro and partners relinquished part of Area 1911 and have taken out a reconnaissance license on more than 16,000 sq km in parts of areas 2513, 2514, and 2614 in the Luderitz basin.
Ranger relinquished its Area 2213A license and took out a new exploration license over an area three times the size in areas 2713 and 2714 in the southern Luderitz and northernmost Orange basins.
Sasol relinquished its license area and is watching developments, and Chevron drilled one well and will transfer its second commitment well to another license area.
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