NAMIBIA: ReconAfrica & NAMCOR Granted 2D Seismic Permit for the Kavango Basin
Reconnaissance Energy Africa has announced that the Republic of Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has issued on Friday July 2, 2021 the Environmental Clearance Certificate (“ECC”) for the initial 2D seismic program to be conducted in the Petroleum Exploration License No. 73 in the Kavango East and West regions of NE Namibia.
Seismic Operations
With the ECC (seismic permit) now in place, ReconAfrica and NAMCOR (the National oil company of Namibia) have begun acquisition of the initial 450 km 2D seismic program in the Kavango basin. Acquisition is expected to commence during the third week of July for an anticipated duration of 6-8 weeks.
The program provider is Polaris Natural Resources Inc. (Polaris), Canada’s longest standing geophysical contractor, which was selected through a competitive bidding process. Polaris offers its own patented seismic source the Explorer 860 Accelerated Weight Drop.
All three Explorer 860 source units have arrived at Polaris’s newly established base in Rundu, Namibia. Polaris anticipates hiring approximately 100 local personnel with line crew training starting July 6th. This low impact seismic program will be conducted along existing roadways during daylight hours to minimize wildlife disturbance.
Scot Evans, ReconAfrica CEO said, “Now that the first two wells have successfully established an active conventional petroleum system in the Kavango basin, we are moving to the next phase of the exploration process; acquisition, processing, and interpretation of the first regional seismic grid in this newly identified sedimentary basin. The program will provide the regional geologic structural and stratigraphic framework and identify conventional hydrocarbon accumulations, with the goal of commercializing this potential major source of energy for Namibia.”
Polaris COO, Joe Little stated, “The acquisition plan is progressing very well for a successful recording launch in mid July. Given our past success with the environmentally friendly Explorer 860 source units on past projects in Africa and given the very high resolution parameters designed by ReconAfrica’s seismic team, we anticipate getting excellent data results on the project.”
Drilling Operations
ReconAfrica is currently drilling ahead on the 6-1 well, anticipating reaching total depth on or before July 11th. Immediately after reaching total depth, ReconAfrica will commence logging and coring operations designed to maximize hydrocarbon recovery. These operations will be conducted using Schlumberger technology.