Galp Energia begins new appraisal in Orange basin

Galp Energia SGPS SA spudded the Mopane 1-A well as part of the second exploration and appraisal campaign in PEL 83 in Namibia’s Orange basin, said partner Sintana Energy Inc. in an Oct. 28 release.

This appraisal well is the first in a program that could include up to four wells potentially consisting of two exploration wells and two appraisal wells. This second campaign on PEL 83 is predicated on providing additional insights into the scope and quality of the Mopane complex, Sintana said.

PEL 83 governs blocks 2813A and 2814B where Mopane-2X and Mopane 1-X wells discovered light oil columns in high-quality reservoir sands. This inaugural two-well exploration campaign began in fourth-quarter 2023 and resulted in multiple discoveries of light oil columns in high-quality reservoir sands, Sintana continued.

An initial estimate of the original oil in place is 10 billion boe. A drill stem test was also conducted resulting in an infrastructure constrained flow of 14,000 boe/d (OGJ Online, April 23, 2024).

Initial analysis suggests the reservoirs have good porosities, high pressures, and high permeabilities in large hydrocarbon columns with very low oil viscosity and no CO₂ or H₂S. The flows achieved during the well test have reached the maximum allowed limits.

Galp is operator of PEL 83 (80%) with partners National Petroleum Corp. of Namibia (NAMCOR) (10%) and Custos Energy (10%). Sintana has 49% carried interest through its indirect investment in Custos Energy.