It is somewhat curious, but in recent years, countries somewhat unknown to the general public and the world of energy are coming to the fore in style. They are hidden places that have not begun to be explored in energy terms until ‘four days’ ago and that have now become the hope of new oil. Good examples of this with Guyana or Suriname. However, there is another very promising one that this week has once again brought joy to an ‘Iberian’ company. The Portuguese Galp has confirmed another oil discovery in Namibia, the country that is fashionable in the world of oil (with permission from Guyana). The firm’s shares rose more than 5% in Monday’s session after the publication of the statement. Namibia is becoming Galp’s great joy and vice versa. One will enrich itself with the oil it extracts from the African country and the other will try to do the same.
With a population of approximately 2.7 million inhabitants, Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries on the planet. Its population density is only four inhabitants per square kilometer (in the so-called ‘Spanish Lapland’ the density exceeds 8 inhabitants per square kilometer, to give you an idea). Namibia is one of the largest deserts in the world.
Its (Namibia’s) population is made up of a rich ethnic and cultural diversity, with various ethnic groups such as the Ovambo, Herero, Nama and San, each with their own languages and traditions. Despite this diversity, English is the official languagewhich makes business much easier, although many people also speak Afrikaans and indigenous languages. In religious terms, the majority of Namibians are Christians, with Lutheranism being the predominant denomination due to the influence of European missionaries during colonial times. This country wants to be the new king of African oil (and unseat Nigeria).
The epicenter of new oil
The marine areas of Namibia are being the epicenter of African oil exploration. In just a few years, this country has become the center of attention for large companies that are looking for new places to continue with this type of work, which sometimes gives rise to important oil discoveries and great disappointments at other times.
The Portuguese Galp has just drilled and successfully register Mopane-1A appraisal well on block PEL83in which it has found light oil and gas condensate in high-quality sands containing reservoirs. The findings of this third evaluation well “indicate once again good porosities, high permeabilities and high pressures, as well as low viscosity characteristics of the oil with a minimum of CO2 and without H2S concentrations,” says Galp, which is the operator of the block, in a statement to which elEconomista.es has had access.
The appraisal well confirms the extent and quality of oil and condensate discoveries to date, the Portuguese firm says. Galp and its partners will continue to analyze and integrate all newly acquired data, while moving forward with upcoming activities, including exploration and evaluation (E&A) wells, and a proprietary high-resolution 3D seismic campaign that will begin in December 2024, the company said. Portuguese company.
In recent years, large international companies have reduced investments in Africa’s traditional producers, such as Nigeria and Angola, and have instead turned to offshore exploration in Namibia, hoping that it will be the next Guyana and the next major oil producer and exporter. Shell, TotalEnergies and Galp have announced major oil discoveries in the past two years offshore Namibia, including a giant find earlier this year.
Up to 10 billion barrels of oil
At the end of April, Galp Energia assured that the first phase of its exploration in the Mopane field offshore Namibia could contain at least 10 billion barrels of oil. TotalEnergies and Shell have already made major discoveries off the coast of Namibia, kick-starting the Namibian oil rush in 2022.
TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy are also expanding their efforts to explore for oil and gas in the Orange Basin off the coast of Namibia, which extends into South African waters. Last week, QatarEnergy signed an agreement to purchase from TotalEnergies an additional 5.25% stake in Block 2913B (PEL 56) and an additional 4.695% stake in Block 2912 (PEL 91), in the Orange Basin, in the coast of Namibia.
How much is 10 billion barrels of oil? This amount of oil would be enough to cover Spain’s crude oil demand for 20 years, for example. Spain consumes around 1.3 and 1.4 million barrels of oil every day, so this Galp discovery would have sufficient proven reserves to cover the consumption of crude oil in Spain for 19 and a half years, to be more exact.
Another way to put the amount of crude oil found in context is to make comparisons with other countries that are currently ‘in fashion’ in the world of oil, such as Guyana. This small country, bathed by the waters of the Atlantic, has proven crude oil reserves that are estimated at 11,000 million barrels, so the estimate of the Mopane field almost equals all of Guyana’s reserves.
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