GCI88 Energy confirms significant leads in Namibia's PEL 93, resource assessment to follow
() , an Alaska-focused hydrocarbon explorer, issued an update on its PEL 93 onshore acreage in the Owambo Basin, Namibia. holds a 20% working interest in PEL 93 with an option to earn up to 45% interest.
88 Energy announced the completion of 2D seismic processing over PEL 93 and reported "significant structures" identified in the processed data, yet to be interpreted in-house. said a preliminary review of the 203 line-km seismic validated several leads previously pinpointed on legacy datasets. confirmed nominal acquisition parameters and detailed, high-quality data, showing good signal-to-noise ratio across all 9 acquired seismic lines.
88 Energy said it will commence interpretation of the processed data "shortly" in collaboration with its joint venture partner on PEL 93, Monitor Exploration. The seismic programme is designed to enable an independent estimation of a maiden independent prospective resource for PEL 93, and to identify potential future drilling locations.
The work will include mapping and assessing potential drilling locations within PEL 93, informed by insights from Recon Africa's Naingopo-1 well on nearby PEL 73. A maiden independent prospective resource for PEL 93 is expected by Q1 2025.
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88 Energy and partner Monitor Exploration continue to advance the PEL 93 onshore anchorage in the prospective Owambo Basin, Namibia. successfully acquired 203-line km of 2D seismic for the 20%-owned asset in Q3, with processing already complete and final results expected by Q4 2024. The data will be used to validate 10 previously identified targets and establish a maiden resource for the asset by H1 2025, with an initial exploration well expected later in 2025.
Additionally, as the dataset is expanded, further leads will be identified. Recon Africa is already actively exploring the area, which should further accelerate 's work programme. In October 2024, Recon announced that the Naingopo-1 well on PEL 73 was ongoing, with results expected in the next few weeks. Naingopo-1 is the first well drilled by Recon specifically targeting the Damara play, which is the same play interpreted by and Monitor in PEL 93.
While initial exploration of the region had focused on the shallow Karoo play, developers have recently given more attention to the deeper and largely untested Damara play (see map below) where significant independent exploration targets have been found of equivalent size to those discovered in offshore Namibia. For context, approx. 88% of recent offshore wells have successfully discovered oil. Overall, based on previous and adjacent exploration of the area, the Owambo Basin has already proven to be highly prospective with a ready path to market.
The newly processed seismic data produced a detailed image, enabling precise interpretation of the Damara play in both the Mulden and Otavi reservoir targets (see map below). Volumetrics are expected to estimate a significant prospective resource from both reservoirs, validating PEL 93 as a project with significant scale and opportunity.
PEL 93 is a rich 18,500km2 onshore acreage, comprising blocks 1717 and 1817 in the Owambo Basin. It is more than 10 times larger than 's Alaskan portfolio, and more than 70 times larger than Project Phoenix ('s largest asset in Alaska). can acquire a total of 45% working interest in PEL 93 under its 3-stage farm-in agreement with Monitor Exploration. Namibia represents one of the last frontier oil and gas jurisdictions capable of delivering multi-billion barrel discoveries as evidenced by recent offshore discoveries.
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