By Toyin Akinosho, in Johannesburg
Shell has made a discovery in Enigma-1X, its sixth exploration well in Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 39 in Namibia’s prolific deepwater Orange Basin.
The UK supermajor had been on the probe since February 27, 2024, with the semi-submersible rig Deepsea Bollsta.
Enigma-1X is located 15 kilometres south-southeast of Shell’s Jonker-2A appraisal well.
The wildcat is part of Shell’s second multi-well exploration and appraisal campaign which began in December 2022, after the inaugural campaign that culminated in the announcement of the Graff-1 discovery.
Shel’s basin opening Graff-1, whih came to global notice in February 2022, effectively launched the series of discoveries that have featured hub sized wins by TOTALEnergies and Galp Energia and convinced the otherwise conservative Chevron to get in the fray.
But the size of the prize has been smaller for Shell, than its European rival TOTAL.
Shell’s Graff and Jonker accumulations have respectively been reported by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy as holding between 250Million and 400Million barrels of oil estimated recoverable reserves each, whereas TOTAL’s Venus discovery, which came after Graff, reportedly holds in excess of 2Billion barrels of oil and is now the centre piece of the French major’s regionwide exploration and development effort in Southern Africa, including neighbouring South Africa.
If Jonker is the focus of Shell’s commercial project in Namibia s the energy press has widely claimed, the likelihood is that Shell is planning a development of a cluster of fields, as opposed to developing single accumulations.
Data evaluation of Enigma-1 is ongoing to determine its commercial potential.
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