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One of the promising hotspots of oil and gas drilling this year (South Africa's offshore) has produced a major discovery of natural gas and condensate that could pave the way for a new province of exploration. for the oil majors and change the energy supply of South Africa.
The French group Total said this week that it had made an important discovery of the prospects of Brulpadda off the south coast of South Africa.
"With this discovery, Total has opened a new world-clbad oil and gas group and is well positioned to test multiple prospects on the same block," said Kevin McLachlan, Executive Vice President, Exploration at Total.
According to Patrick Pouyanne, General Manager of Total, the discovery could contain 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent of gas and condensate resources.
The licensee, Total, and its partners Qatar Petroleum, CNR International and the South African Main Street consortium, are now considering acquiring 3D seismic data this year, followed by four exploration wells on the license.
"It's exciting for our country that this discovery was made. This is an important potential for the economy, and we welcome it while continuing to look for investments to grow our economy, "said South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, on the discovery of gas.
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) also welcomed the first major discovery in deep waters off South Africa: "This is a great first step for the country, which is still dependent on oil imports and of gas, despite the significant reserves that waters. "
According to AEC, this discovery could change the course of the South African economy and help reduce the country's dependence on imports of oil and natural gas. Related: Uncertainty of trade agreements weighs on oil prices
"The oil industry hopes that this will serve as a catalyst and incentive for all policymakers to create a business environment conducive to exploration and drilling activities in South Africa," said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the Chamber. .
South Africa is currently working on new legislation that would separate the exploration and exploitation conditions of oil and gas resources from those of traditional mineral resources.
Andrew Latham, Vice President of Global Exploration at Wood Mackenzie, Natural Resources Consulting, comments on Total's discovery:
"Even if the well is not an oil discovery, if Brulpadda turns out to be about as big as estimates of a billion barrels of oil equivalent, it will change again. the game of South Africa. "
Although the difficult deepwater environment may be challenging, the difficulties may be similar to those present in the western Shetland in the British North Sea – a region that Total is well aware of and in which it has considerable influence. experience, noted Latham.
Akif Chaudhry, Senior Analyst at Product Analytics, WoodMac, said:
"If the development of the gas economy is a strong argument, long-term growth requires a clear plan from the government." Related: The number of oil rigs increases as oil prices stabilize
While South Africa is developing new legislation on oil and gas development, major oil and gas groups are increasingly interested in exploring the offshore regions of the African continent as a whole. like the next hotspot of exploration in the world. BP and Shell are strengthening their presence in Africa, while ExxonMobil is focusing on West and Southern Africa, garnering potential interests in Ghana, Mauritania, Namibia and South Africa, in Africa. hope to make a discovery containing not less than a billion barrels of crude, also known as an elephant.
South Africa was one of the hotspots of promising exploration drilling that WoodMac had identified for this year, alongside Guyana, Brazil, Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, Cyprus and the sea of Barents in Norway.
Deep's major deepwater discovery off South Africa is now opening up a potential new wave of major drilling in the region, hoping to find the next billion barrel discovery.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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