A 10% participation interest in Namibia’s Northern and Southern offshore blocks has been acquired by the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA).
”This is consistent with our philosophy of expanding our gas and petroleum interests internationally,” PetroSA chief executive Sipho Mkhize said on Monday in a statement.
”This venture is a welcome addition to our portfolio of African interests, which apart from our interests off the coast of South Africa, now extend to Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.”
The Northern and Southern offshore blocks are located approximately 220km south-west off the Oranjemund coast of Namibia, covering an area of 10 844 and 18 010 square kilometres respectively, with water depths ranging from 200m to 3 000m.
BHP Billiton has been awarded the licence to operate the blocks and will be partnering PetroSA and Mitsui Atlantic Energy BV with a 75% interest.
Significant gas discoveries in the area, the Kudu gas field to the east and the Ibhubesi gas field to the south-east, prove that a working petroleum system exists, said PetroSA.
”The Northern and Southern blocks off the coast of Namibia are particularly exciting opportunities for PetroSA, which will be able to bring its technical capabilities and unparalleled experience in fields such as gas-to-liquids technology to bear on this project,” concluded Mkhize. — Sapa