http://www.moneyweb.com/mw/view/mw/en/page295022?oid=318194&sn=2009+Detail&pid=287226
05 August 2011 05:24 Namibia to follow in Ghanas oil slipstream
A major oil find in Namibia is set to propel that economy into a new league.
Last year saw Ghana begin to pump oil from its Jubilee oil field, a development that is set to transform its economy, which is forecast to be Africa's fastest growing in 2011.
This year, a major oil find in Namibia is set to propel that economy into a new league. Global Energy Magazine last month reported that following years of intensive data acquisition and analysis, oil and gas exploration in Namibia has hit the jackpot with an estimated 11bn barrels equivalent having been discovered off the nation's coast.
According to Isak Katali, Namibia's Minister of Mines and Energy, the country must now prepare itself for rigorous drilling activities with operations starting as early as November this year. Katali said that Enigma Oil & Gas, owned by London-listed Chariot Oil & Gas, has identified 11 prospects along the southern coast. "The largest of these, the Nimrod Prospect in 350 metres (1,150 feet) depth, and most likely reserves in the event of success are estimated to be greater than 4bn barrels," he told parliament. "Enigma expects to find oil rather than gas," Katali said, adding that first production could begin as early as 2015. Enigma holds 50% equity in the offshore Southern Block together with Brazil's Petrobras.
Brazilian company, HRT Oil & Gas Ltd, has raised USD 1.3bn on the Brazilian stock market, with USD 300m earmarked for oil and gas exploration in Namibia. "To date, the company has conducted step by step critical geological and geophysical studies, allowing them to demonstrate the existence of at least two active petroleum systems which can generate and favour the trapping of liquid hydrocarbons in commercial quantities. This finding could turn offshore Namibia into a great producer of oil and gas in a short time. We expect that six to eight wells to be drilled in Namibia's waters in the next 18 months, the highest number in Namibia's exploration history," Katali added. To date, Namibia's largest source of natural gas is the Kudu gas field located approximately 170 kilometres north-west from the city of Oranjemund. It is located in the Orange Sub-basin in 170 metres of water.
Paul Welch, CEO of Chariot Oil & Gas, reckons that any significant oil discovery will have a "dramatic impact" on Namibia's economy. The country is expected to benefit tremendously from royalties and taxes paid by oil companies as well as the employment opportunities that will be created. He compares Namibia's current situation with that of Brazil around a decade ago. "You can think of Namibia today . . . to something similar to what you would have seen in Brazil say ten years ago, where you had some small inklings of potential, but people needed to go out and drill some wells before they could prove it. [Brazil] has gone from essentially an importing country, to an exporting country with regard to crude oil products. "The difference between Namibia and Brazil is that there are only 2.1m people in Namibia, so every barrel discovered in Namibia is going to make a tremendous difference." Namibia could well be SSA's "next big thing.
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