Rhino Resources has confirmed a significant light oil discovery in its maiden exploration effort offshore Namibia, potentially opening a new frontier in African petroleum development. The Capricornus 1-X well, drilled by the Noble Venturer in Block 2914 of the Orange Basin, hit pay dirt after reaching a total depth of 4,957 meters.
The discovery revealed an impressive 38 meters of net pay, with extensive hydrocarbon samples and sidewall cores collected during wire-line logging operations. Production testing delivered spectacular results—a surface-constrained flow rate exceeding 11,000 barrels per day of high-quality 37°API oil on a 40/64-inch choke, with minimal associated gas containing less than 2% CO₂ and zero hydrogen sulfide.
Rhino CEO Travis Smithard celebrated the finding, confirming “the existence of a high-quality light-oil bearing reservoir with no observed water contact.” He praised the service companies involved for ensuring “safe and successful drilling of two consecutive deepwater wells in a challenging geological environment.”
The PEL85 joint venture partners—including Azule Energy (the BP/Eni joint venture), NAMCOR, and Korres—will analyze laboratory results from collected fluid samples to determine next steps in their exploration strategy for this promising offshore block.
Source: offshore-mag.com
