Wednesday, 4 December, 2024 / Edition 36

I hope those in the United States enjoyed some fun family time with your loved ones for the Thanksgiving holiday. We cherished the time we spent with our kids while they were visiting us in Houston.

Now, let’s dig into two pieces of energy news from last week.

Shangyou Nie

Editor, Well Read

Galp’s Appraisal Well Found Light Oil in Namibia

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Portuguese company Galp Energia announced that its appraisal well, Mopane-1A, encountered light oil and gas condensate in Namibia. This is the first of a four-well drilling campaign in Block PEL 83. Galp said that it found 10 billion barrels of oil in place in the Mopane complex.

About the well:

• Mopane-1A was spudded on 23 October with the Santorini drillship from Saipem.

• Mopane-1A is the third exploration well Galp has drilled and the second appraisal well for the Mopane discovery.

• Galp said in a release, “The Mopane-1A well encountered light oil and gas-condensate in high-quality, reservoir-bearing sands.”

• Logging and coring revealed good porosities, high permeabilities, and high pressure.

• The appraisal well found minimal CO2 and no H2S.

• The Mopane complex reportedly has three reservoir levels identified as AVO-1, AVO-2, and AVO-3. AVO-1 is the primary target, according to Upstream.

• Together with the first two wells in PEL 83, Mopane-1A confirmed the extension and quality of AVO-1.

About Galp and its partners:

• Galp (80 percent) is the operator of Block PEL 83, with partners national company NAMCOR (10 percent), and Namibian independent Custos Energy (10 percent).

• Toronto-listed Sintana Energy (ticker symbol: SEUSF) owns 49 percent of Custos Energy.

• Upon the news of the latest Galp appraisal well, Sintana Energy’s stock rose 18 percent. Sintana now has a market cap of Canadian $420 million (USD $300 million).

• Galp’s stock rose 4.4 percent following the news. It has a market cap of $12 billion.

• Galp was reportedly trying to find a major IOC partner to take up as much as 40 percent of its stake, and possibly development operatorship, in PEL 83.

• As many as “half a dozen” major deepwater players were in the race to become Galp’s partner, including Shell, Chevron, TotalEnergies, Woodside Energy, and deepwater heavyweight Petrobras. So far, no new partner has been selected.

What to watch:

• Next, Galp will drill an exploration well and launch a high-resolution proprietary 3D seismic campaign in December.

• The campaign includes plans for four wells, two appraisals and two exploration wells.

• A number of exploratory wells are about to start in Namibia, including Chevron’s first exploration well in PEL 90.

• Namibia is having its general election. The opposition party is refusing to recognize results, citing logistical problems. Ruling party’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is seeking to become Namibia’s first female president.

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BP Takes FID on $7 Billion LNG and CCUS Project in Indonesia

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BP recently announced that it has taken its final investment decision for the $7 billion Tangguh LNG and CCUS project in Indonesia, which will unlock 3 trillion cubic feet of gas. The latest major investment in oil and gas sector represents BP’s attempt to be a “simpler, more focused, [and] higher value” company.

About the CCUS project:

• The full project name is Tangguh Ubadari, CCUS, and Compression (UCC). The UCC project has been designated as a “national strategic project” by the Government of Indonesia.

• UCC will be Indonesia’s first large-scale CCUS project and will store 15 million tonnes of CO2 in its initial phase.

• The Ubadari development will consist of two normally unattended offshore platforms, located at 20–25 meters of water depth.

• Gas production from the Ubadari field will begin in 2028. It will produce around 3 trillion cubic feet more gas through enhanced gas recovery.

• Gas will be transported to Tangguh LNG Train 3 via a 72-kilometer subsea pipeline.

About Tangguh LNG:

• Tangguh LNG started to produce in 2009. The gas discoveries were initially made by American company Arco, before it was acquired by BP in 2000.

• Tangguh LNG is a unitized development of six gas fields located in Bintuni Bay, Papua Barat, Indonesia.

• BP (40.2 percent) is the operator for Tangguh LNG, with partners MI Berau BV (16.3 percent), CNOOC (13.9 percent), JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (12.2 percent), KG Berau Petroleum (8.6 percent), KG Wiriagar Petroleum (1.4 percent), and Indonesia Natural Gas Resources (7.4 percent).

• It is now producing 11.4 mtpa of LNG after Train 3 started production in 2023.

• Indonesia has three producing LNG projects exporting 16.2 million tonnes of LNG in 2023, though numbers have been in a general decline since 2000.

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✉️ To get in touch with Shangyou, send an email to editorial@aapg.org.