Portuguese E&P Galp is expected to start drilling wells near recent West African oil discoveries made in PEL 83, offshore Namibia, by Shell and TotalEnergies, according to an Oct. 19 press release by Sintana Energy.

In May, Galp entered into a contract for the SFL Corp. semi-submersible rig Hercules. The rig is currently in transit along the coast of West Africa and is expected to reach Walvis Bay on Nov. 4, with an expected spud date in the mid-November. The 115-day contract is for two wells and optional well testing.

The initial drilling campaign is targeting the Mopane complex at the southern end of PEL 83, as it “represents one of the most significant and attractive known opportunities in the basin today,” said Knowledge Katti, chairman and CEO of Custos Energy and a director of Sintana.

“The significant prospectivity of PEL 83 together with its relatively shallower water depth, position it to be one of the most significant and profitable developments in the Orange Basin,” he added.

PEL 83 is in Namibia’s Orange Basin. Custos and NAMCOR own 10% working interests in PEL 83, and are carried by Galp through first sales. Sintana has an indirect 49% interest in Custos.

Offshore