The Brulpadda discovery has opened up a major new hydrocarbon play off South Africa and thrust one of the partners in the Total-operated field, Africa Energy Corporation, and its chief executive Garrett Soden, into the spotlight.

A strong interest in geopolitics and the way the world works brought Soden into the world of oil and gas. But it was not a direct route.

“My first interest was geopolitics and international relations, and a lot of that is based around natural resources, specifically oil,” he says.

Soden was born in Los Angeles, California, but grew up on the US East Coast, as his family moved to Connecticut for work.

He went on to study at the London School of Economics. After graduating, he returned to the US to work in investment banking and later with the US Department of Energy.

“I was working in the White House on 9/11. It was shocking to run out of the building and see smoke on the horizon from the plane that hit the Pentagon. It was a seminal experience for me,” Soden says.

“I became even more interested in trying to understand what was happening in the world around me and why. It just furthered my interests in international relations.”

Soden worked in the financial sector before going back to school and getting a MBA from Columbia Business School, which later on, took him to Caracas, Venezuela.

“Having worked at the White House during the (President Hugo) Chavez administration, I followed the situation in Venezuela closely. It intrigued me from a geopolitical and socio-economic point of view,” he says.

First role

Soden took a job as chief financial officer at PetroFalcon in Venezuela and relocated to South America for his first job at an oil and gas company.

“This was a time (2006) when the government (in Venezuela) was forcing companies into mandatory joint ventures with the state oil company PDVSA, where the private parties were put into a minority position. In retrospect, it was a gradual nationalisation scheme,” Soden says.

“Initially we saw a lot of opportunity. It was a time when we could buy assets at a discount from larger companies which were leaving. One of those deals was for the Lundin Petroleum asset in Venezuela.

“(Lundin) were intrigued we were one of the few companies interested in buying assets in Venezuela at that time. So, they came back to us and said they would like to fund PetroFalcon. It ended up becoming a reverse takeover,” he says.

However, as Venezuela became more challenging for oil and gas companies, PetroFalcon sold its portfolio and later re-branded as a solar power producer called Etrion.

Soden moved on to other opportunities and in 2017 another Lundin-backed company, Africa Energy, came calling.

“Africa Energy started in 2015 and was a spin-out from Africa Oil, a Lundin company. Africa Energy has the benefit of having Lundin as the largest shareholder, plus a very strong technical team that came out of Tullow Oil, so finding and financing exploration opportunities is not so difficult. But we still need to determine which opportunity will create the most value,” Soden says.

“When I joined in 2017, we were looking for frontier exploration assets all across Africa. I narrowed our focus to those with the highest chance of success.”

Africa Energy holds interests in three offshore blocks, including Block 2B, in the Orange basin off South Africa. Soden says the company is in farm-out discussions with mid-cap players over this asset, which it operates with a 90% interest.

“We are willing to give up a majority stake and operatorship in order to get carried on a well. The block has large prospects with a high chance of success up-dip from the existing discovery,” he says.

The company is “looking to announce a partner by the end of this year, so that we can drill a relatively low cost well next year”, Soden says.

However, progress on the farm-out depends on clarity from South Africa, as the country is waiting on the results of its upcoming election next month. In addition, later this year, much-anticipated and much-delayed hydrocarbon legislation is due.

Meanwhile, work continues on the 11B/12B block, site of the Brulpadda discovery.

The project partners are acquiring 3D seismic on the block and are discussing the potential of four more exploration wells.

“This is a gas condensate and light oil discovery. While there is no formal work programme for the block yet, we believe Total will come back next season and at least drill the largest prospect called Luiperd, which is significantly bigger than Brulpadda.

"It is expected to contain more oil than Brulpadda and has a very high chance of success of around 80% to 90%,” Soden says.

Namibia find

Africa Energy also holds interests in the Tullow-operated PEL 37, off Namibia, where recent drilling proved the play, although a commercial discovery is still awaited.

However, with several companies drilling near its block, Soden says the plan here is to “wait and see” if nearby work is successful.

In terms of new ventures, Africa Energy is focused offshore from South Africa up the west coast to Senegal.

"We believe offshore is easier to develop and monetise because we do not need to get involved in complicated land and community issues. Plus, the economics offshore are still compelling in today’s rig rates environment and seismic is cheaper," explains Soden.

“Emerging markets and developing countries, that’s a natural part of my interest in geopolitics. Its also where the resources are,” he stresses.

“This is the more exciting part of the business for me. It’s about frontier exploration — finding the elephant-size opportunities and opening new basins that have been overlooked by the majors.”

Weekly

Soden sets sights on new frontiers for Africa Energy