Shell makes further deep-water discovery offshore Namibia

In March 2023, Shell, QatarEnergy and NAMCOR safely and successfully concluded operations to drill a further exploration well – Jonker-1X – in the PEL 0039 license. The well was drilled to a total depth of 6168m in water depth of 2210m. Drilling operations established the presence of a reservoir with light oil.

Further appraisal activities with dynamic data gathering are required to characterize the variability of rock properties and to determine the size and recoverable potential of the discovery.

Dennis Zekveld, Shell’s Country Chair in Namibia, made the following comment on the initial results: “We are encouraged by a further deep-water discovery, our third in Namibia, and pleased to confirm the safe conclusion of the well. Jonker again demonstrated the Joint Venture’s strong commitment to advancing oil & gas exploration in Namibia and to progressing follow-up opportunities after last year’s discoveries. We look forward to continuing our excellent collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Namibia.”

The Deepsea Bollsta semi-sub rig will remain in PEL 0039 to drill further wells as part of the Joint Venture’s ongoing exploration and appraisal campaign.

Background

• Shell is the Operator of PEL 0039 with a 45% working interest, together with QatarEnergy (45%) and NAMCOR (10%). PEL 0039 covers approximately 12,000 km² in deep water offshore Namibia. It is located c. 250km off the southern Namibian coast.
• Exploration remains a vital part of shaping Shell’s Upstream future business, which in turn plays a pivotal role in delivering the energy needs of today, and the funding necessary to support our dividend and investment into our growth businesses.
• Frontier exploration requires a multi-phase process to establish a success case and after which it usually takes a number of years prior to reaching first production of commercial hydrocarbons.