The Namibian National Petroleum Corporation (NAMCOR) and its joint venture have made a major discovery off the southern coast of Namibia by detecting reservoirs containing high-quality light oil.
Joint venture partners focus on post-drill analysis to determine the next step in their exploration strategy.
Namcor is a joint venture partner of Petroleum Exploration License 85 (PEL 85), and Rhino Resources operates PEL 85 with 42.5% of its work interests.
Co-ventlers include Azure Energy (42.5%), Namcor (10%), and Korres Investments (5%).
Azure Energy is a joint venture owned equally by BP and ENI.
Commenting on the discovery, Rhino Resources CEO Travis Smithard said, “On behalf of the Pel85 JV, Rhino is pleased to announce its hydrocarbon discovery on Capricornus 1-X.
“This achievement is evidence of the prominent execution of the campaign by the Rhino team and our service company partners. They have ensured safe and successful drilling of two consecutive deep-sea wells in a challenging geological environment. Rhino will be paying attention to passing through the next phase in collaboration with partners Azure Energy, Namcor and Korres.
Sign up for the AllAfrica newsletter for free
Get the latest African news
success!
Almost finished…
You need to check your email address.
Follow the instructions in the email you sent to complete the process.
error!
There was a problem processing the submission. Please try again later.
The Capricornus 1-X Exploration spiked on February 17, 2025 using the Noble Venturer Drillship, and succeeded at a depth of about 5,000 meters on April 2.
The well permeated its main Lower Cretaceous target and encountered a net hydrocarbon pay of 38 meters.
In particular, the reservoirs exhibited favorable dentiphysical properties.
No water contact was observed.
In a statement, Namcor noted that wireline logging operations have been carried out extensively, allowing for the acquisition of sidewall cores and hydrocarbon samples.
“In addition, the 40/64 choke has undergone production tests across the light oil bearing interval, confirming surface-constrained flow rates above 11,000 stock tank barrels per day. The photocrude is estimated to be ~37° API without the minimum associated gas, less than 2% carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. The liquid samples collected during the test will undergo further laboratory analysis. The wells have been temporarily inserted and abandoned. The drillship will now be demobilized,” Namcole said.
Namcor added that it remains committed to driving Namibia’s upstream potential through strategic partnerships and technological excellence, supporting the nation’s ambition to becoming a key player in the global energy sector.
