Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) is set to kick off a three-well drilling programme from December in Namibia’s deep Kavango basin in the Kalahari desert.
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The junior has completed refurbishment and upgrades on its Crown Drilling rig, Jarvie-1, and will dispatch the unit by mid-November.
The rig will be shipped from the Port of Houston in Texas to Walvis Bay, with transit time estimated at 28 days.
The initial exploration programme, comprising drilling and fresh seismic, will focus on confirming an active petroleum system on ReconAfrica acreage in northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana, said chief executive Scot Evans.
The two permits span 8.75 million contiguous acres across both countries.
ReconAfrica, listed on the Frankfurt and Toronto stock exchanges, will kick off by spudding the “all-important” 6-2 well, barring possible minor delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Evans.
Primary drilling service contracts “will be provided by industry leaders, including Schlumberger and Halliburton (and will require) no hydraulic fracturing or other stimulation as the targets are conventional reservoirs,” he said.
Some 90% of in-country work will be conducted by local workers and service providers, led by ReconAfrica’s Namibia project manager, Pioneer Energy.
Under protocols prescribed by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), site preparations for the 6-2 drilling pad and the working camp have already begun.
Design work for the initial 450-kilometre 2D seismic programme is complete, while open bidding for the vibroseis seismic programme is in progress, with an award anticipated by the end of October and execution in the first quarter of next year, said Evans.
This 2D seismic programme is designed to delineate conventional hydrocarbon traps throughout the Kavango basin.
