9 November 2020
Last update on Monday, November 9, 2020 At 9:30 AM
The discovery further positions Africa as a global and competitive gas frontier that continues to offer very attractive gas exploration and marketing opportunities.
Although anticipated, Total's second significant gas condensate discovery announced today in South Africa is nevertheless a cause for celebration after a year of deep uncertainty for the African energy sector. Together with its partners Qatar Petroleum, CNR International and Africa Energy Corp, Total was able to start its multi-well exploration program on block 11B / 12B with only two months delay, delivering what so far remains the only discovery of year in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Luiperd-1X well was drilled to a total depth of 3,400 meters in the same area as the Brulpadda discovery in 2019. This second discovery confirms the enormous gas potential in South Africa and is expected to be followed by the drilling of a third , and maybe even a fourth, exploration well on the same block.
More importantly, the discovery further positions Africa as a global and competitive gas frontier that continues to offer exciting gas exploration and marketing opportunities. The next Africa Energy Outlook 2021 from the African Energy Chamber identifies several high impact sinks for 2021 and 2022 that could lead to similar discoveries in South Africa and Namibia. These prospects notably identify the southwest coast of Africa as perhaps home to the world’s most anticipated exploration wells. These drilling programs, if successful, could open up new development basins and trigger significant new investments in the second half of the 2020s.
As part of its 2021 projections which will be published in November, the Chamber notably sees the production and consumption of gas increase on the continent. Specifically, new frontiers such as South Africa are expected to consume more and more natural gas for industrial and power generation purposes. Such developments could be a pillar of the economic recovery after Covid-19, but would require the promotion of a conducive environment offering investors solid and attractive political and contractual frameworks.
“The African Energy Chamber has always viewed Africa as a real frontier for exploration and has promoted much greater use of gas in our economies to create jobs and support industrialization. The gradual opening of a new domestic gas hub in South Africa is a development that must be supported by effective and transparent policies, and swift approvals of all permits and licenses necessary for gas to be marketed and create market. value for South Africans, ”said Nj Ayuk, President of the African Energy Chamber.
Source APO Group for African Energy Chamber
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