Chevron ends in the same boat as Shell with no commercial hydrocarbons off Namibia

Harmattan Energy, an indirect subsidiary of the U.S.-headquartered energy giant Chevron, has drilled an exploration well in the Orange Basin off the coast of Namibia, which did not yield any commercial hydrocarbon quantities.

After Chevron’s affiliate got an environmental clearance certificate (ECC) from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism to spud up to ten wells in Namibia, encompassing around five exploration and five appraisal wells, anticipated to be carried out over three years, the company confirmed its intention to drill one exploratory well in Block 2813B within PEL 90 in the Orange Basin.

To this end, the firm booked a rig from Northern Ocean for the Kapana 1-X exploration well, aiming to spud it in the fourth quarter of 2024. As a result, the Odfjell Drilling-managed Deepsea Bollsta semi-submersible rig, which also worked for Shell in Namibia, got hired to undertake the drilling work, as confirmed by the African Energy Council (AEC). The rig owner also secured a one-well assignment in Norway for the rig, which was to be completed before the semi-sub’s recently disclosed two-year drilling campaign with Equinor.

Designed to operate in ultra-deepwater environments, the 2020-built Deepsea Bollsta sixth-generation semi-submersible rig was slated to complete its short-term work off the coast of Ghana, where it undertook appraisal activities at the Afina-1x well and do a five-year class survey, before embarking on its assignment offshore Namibia. 

According to Chevron’s update on its drilling activities, it reached the total depth at the Kapana 1-X well 25% ahead of plan. However, the well did not find commercial hydrocarbons. The company claims that these drilling operations enabled it to gain valuable information on important aspects of the basin.

This is also said to have increased the confidence in the future exploration program on PEL 90. Chevron shared the results with its partner, Trago Energy (10%), a wholly owned subsidiary of Custos Energy in which Sintana maintains a 49% indirect interest.

Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer of Sintana, underlined: “We look forward to the many opportunities ahead to further unveil the quality of our unmatched position in the heart of the Orange Basin including the future activity on PEL 90 and the ongoing activity on PEL 83.”

QatarEnergy disclosed in December 2024 its plan to buy a 27.5% working interest in the petroleum exploration license and agreement for Block 2813B, which is located approximately 70 kilometers north of TotalEnergies’ Venus discovery, in which the firm also took steps to boost its ownership interest.

Knowledge Katti, Chairman and CEO of Custos and a Director of Sintana, disclosed: “The geologic insights and improved confidence in the future program on PEL 90 from these operations provides strong support for continued progress and value in our portfolio in Namibia’s Orange Basin, the world’s exploration hotspot.”

Chevron took steps to join PEL 82 last year by assuming an 80% working interest and operatorship. As a result, the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) and Custos Energy will each maintain a 10% carried interest in the license, with Canada’s Sintana Energy holding an indirect 49% interest in Custos.

Chevron’s drilling update comes shortly after Shell decided to write down $400 million, citing technical and geological difficulties encountered at PEL 39, as the European energy giant could not confirm its oil discovery in the Orange Basin for commercial development at that stage.

After making its initial discovery at the Graff-1X well in 2022, Shell drilled eight wells, including La Rona-1, Jonker-1, Graff-1A, Lesedi-1X, Cullinan-1X, Jonker-1A, Jonker-2A, and Enigma-1X, with various of these wells encountering hydrocarbons.

The African Energy Chamber (AEC), which serves as the voice of the African energy sector, believes that reservoir quality will improve further north. Therefore, AEC is convinced that an in-depth analysis of the data by the exploration team could uncover opportunities for a gas strategy, potentially revealing new possibilities.

Following the UK-based oil major’s write-down announcement, Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy underlined that the firm ran into technical and geological difficulties in PEL 39, which led to the determination that discoveries in some drilled wells were not viable for commercial development.

Shell and its partners, QatarEnergy and NAMCOR, plan to keep exploring potential commercial pathways for development while actively looking for further exploration opportunities in PEL 39. The Namibian ministry is adamant that the country still has substantial potential to offer in the offshore Orange Basin, as illustrated by projects such as TotalEnergies’ appraisal campaign in PEL 56.

Following the first discoveries in 2022, Namibia has become a hydrocarbon exploration hub, with multiple players working on plans to explore and develop its oil resources. To this end, Rhino Resources, in partnership with Azule Energy, NAMCOR, and Korres Investments, is drilling the first of two high-impact wells at PEL 85, while Petrobras is seeking farm-in opportunities.

Westwood previously used the string of recent discoveries in Namibia’s Orange Basin to hammer home the existence of significant volumes of hydrocarbons, especially in frontier and underexplored areas.