Overview of PEL 104's Potential

A Namibian frontier exploration block, PEL 104 in the Luderitz basin, has been identified as holding multibillion-barrel resource potential, according to Namibia's Petroleum Commissioner Maggy Shino. The block is targeted by supermajor TotalEnergies and Petrobras, who signed a farm-in agreement in February, though the deal is not yet finalized. PEL 104 is situated between the prolific Orange basin to the south and the highly prospective Walvis basin to the north, and lies directly north of PanContinental's PEL 87, which previously attracted Woodside Energy's interest.

Unique Geological Characteristics

Shino highlighted that Eight Offshore Investments' license contains prospects that are stacked and aligned, allowing multiple targets to be tested with a single well. She described PEL 104 as "a bit unique" in the Luderitz basin due to the widespread presence of direct hydrocarbon indicators, specifically amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) anomalies, which strongly suggest the existence of hydrocarbons. The block exhibits "excellent" Class 3 and Class 4 AVO indicators, located almost directly on top of the targeted prospects.

Key Prospect: CW

One highlighted prospect, named CW, has five drilling objectives, four of which could be tested by a single well. The potential reservoirs in CW cover vast areas, most exceeding 1,000 square kilometers, and each could house multibillion barrels of oil equivalent reserves. Three of the five reservoir objectives are understood to be analogues to reservoirs hosting hydrocarbons in the Orange basin. The potential reservoirs show characteristics of sand-rich basin floor systems in direct contact with source rocks, and all drilling targets are interpreted as being in combination structural-stratigraphic traps.

Farm-In Agreement and Stake Distribution

Assuming government approval of the PEL 104 farm-in, TotalEnergies and Petrobras will each hold 42.5% stakes, with TotalEnergies as the operator. Namcor will have a 10% interest, while Eight Offshore Investments will retain just 5%.