Woodside Energy enters option agreement on Pel 87 in Orange Basin

Sintana Energy announced that Woodside Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Woodside Energy Group has entered into an agreement whereby it has the option to acquire a 56% Participating Interest in Petroleum Exploration License 87, in consideration for, among other things, paying the full cost for a 3D-seismic survey covering an area of at least 5,000 square kilometres within the area the subject of PEL 87 at an estimated cost of US$35 million. Woodside will have a period of at least 180 days after the delivery of the seismic survey data to exercise that option. If Woodside exercises its option, it has agreed to enter into a farmout agreement whereby Woodside will carry the existing joint venture partners during the drilling of the first exploration well to be drilled on the Licence Area after the completion of the seismic survey. It is anticipated that seismic surveying will start in March 2023 with fast-track processed results expected in late June of this year. Custos Investments retains a 15% interest in PEL 87 and benefits from this carry and other elements of related farmout and joint operating agreements. Sintana owns an indirect minority interest in Custos. PEL 87 covering an area of 10,970 sq km, hosts the large Saturn turbidite complex on-trend with the recent major oil discoveries made in the Orange Basin including Total’s Venus-1 discovery and Shell’s Graff-1 and La Rona-1 and recent Jonker-1 discoveries have proven a working light oil system offshore Namibia. Shell has now commenced a multi-well drilling program with Jonker-1 near the Graff discovery, and Total has announced its intention to deploy half its global exploration budget for 2023 using two rigs to drill further exploration and appraisal wells in the Orange Basin.