Pancontinental Energy NL (PCOGF)

[kayakbob223]

Hat tip "turtleboy"

Venus-1 (Namibia)

Venus is arguably the most closely followed new frontier wildcat, expected to be spudded in Q3 2021 by the French major Total. The actual drilling in Namibia’s offshore waters (Orange Sub-Basin, Block 2913B) might have happened earlier but apparently Total prioritized its drilling commitments in Angola, namely the Ondjaba-1 well using the Maersk Voyager ultra-deepwater drillship. The geological specificities of the Venus prospect force an analogy with Brazil’s ultra-deepwater, although the Namibian prospect lies in water depths of 2.5-3km, i.e. much deeper than Brazil’s Campos Basin. The operator Total holds a 40% interest in the block, teamed up by Qatar Petroleum (30%), Impact (20%) and NAMCOR (10%). Preliminary estimates of recoverable oil reserves vary between 1.5-2 Bbbls, if the drilling of Venus-1 turns out to be commercial it will inevitably bring about the emergence of another offshore oil frontier in Southern Africa following Total’s Brulpadda discovery.