**Galp Energia Resumes Exploration Drilling Offshore Namibia with Optimism**
As the oil and gas industry continues to witness significant developments globally, Galp Energia has announced the resumption of its exploration drilling activities offshore Namibia. This move is particularly noteworthy given the region’s emerging status as a world-class oil and gas prospect.
**The Mopane Complex: A Turning Point**
Galp Energia has been actively engaged in exploring the Mopane complex in Petroleum Exploration Licence 83 (PEL 83), located in the heart of Namibia’s Orange Basin. The recent spud of the Mopane 2X well marks a significant milestone in this ongoing campaign. The operation is spearheaded by Galp, which holds an 80% stake in PEL 83, along with its partners National Petroleum Company of Namibia (Namcor) and Custos Investments, each holding a 10% stake.
The Mopane complex is strategically positioned near Shell’s Graff-1 and TotalEnergies’ Venus-1 discoveries, which have previously demonstrated the presence of a functional oil system in the Orange Basin. These neighboring discoveries have heightened the prospectivity of PEL 83, setting the stage for potentially groundbreaking findings.
**Exploration Successes and Implications**
Since the beginning of 2022, exploration activities offshore Namibia have yielded impressive results. The nine wells drilled in the Upper and Lower Cretaceous plays have cumulatively delivered nearly 5 billion barrels of oil, according to Westwood Global Energy Group. The seven follow-up exploration wells to the Graff and Venus play opening discoveries have resulted in four additional discoveries, with an estimated recoverable oil resource of 2.8 billion barrels. This includes Galp Energia’s Mopane discoveries earlier this year.
The Mopane-2X well has encountered a substantial column of light oil in high-quality reservoirs, broadening the potential for commercial discovery. The successful evaluation of the AVO-1 target has confirmed a similar pressure regime to the Mopane-1X discovery well, indicating lateral extension opportunities and substantial reserves. These findings will be crucial in refining Galp’s short-term drilling plan and potentially justifying further exploration and development activities.
**Future Plans and Industry Outlook**
The ongoing environmental and geophysical survey in the area, completed by Fugro, has provided valuable insights into the basin’s geology, supporting the strategic decision