- ReconAfrica, a canadian oil and gas company has announced the spudding of their second well in the Kavango region in North Eastern Namibia.
- The company announced last month that its first well, 6-2, had demonstrated a working petroleum system.
- The second well, 6-1, is aiming for a target depth of 3,800 metres.
- The company’s exploration operation and associated licensing has come under much criticism from local and international environmental groups which the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – read more
- The Kavango region forms part of the larger Okavango Delta which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The company explains that it has taken steps to be more environmentally friendly in its operations. It uses a polyamine drilling fluid system, provided by Valence Drilling Fluids. This drilling fluid uses freshwater as a base and adds plant-based products to the fluid. It is “100% safe to the environment”, it said, and provides ideal samples to determine petroleum properties and future drilling sites.
Related news: Paradise is closing down, the ghastly spectre of oil drilling and fracking in the fragile Okavango Delta
ReconAfrica’s drilling rig executing Its drilling for oil program In Okavango Delta. Image credit: ReconAfrica
ReconAfrica also points out that it has hired more than 200 Namibians. The company is also committed to training programmes, it said. It expects employment numbers to rise as drilling and seismic moves ahead.
Related news: ReconAfrica’s Oil Drilling Threatens Elephants in the Kavango Region
ReconAfrica holds a 90% interest in a petroleum exploration licence in northeast Namibia. The exploration license covers the entire Kavango sedimentary basin an area of approximately 25,341.33 sq km (6.3 million acres), and based on commercial success, it entitles ReconAfrica to obtain a 25 year production licence. The Kavango Basin offers a thick Permian sequence that the company believes will supply a huge conventional oil play.
Image credit: ReconAfrica
Also, ReconAfrica holds a 100% interest in a petroleum licence, northwest Botswana which comprises an area of approximately 8,990 sq km (2.2 million acres) and is contiguous to the Namibian licence. The two licences together comprise 34,325 sq km (8.5 million acres).
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
