French energy company Total has made another significant gas condensate discovery 175 kilometres off the southern coast of South Africa, the company said in a statement on Wednesday, October 28.
The company said the discovery was made on the Luiperd prospect, located in Outeniqua Basin. It follows the discovery made at the Brulpadda well in 2019, which proved to be a significant petroleum province in the region.
Total previously said that the Brulpadda field, which is near Mossel Bay, could hold somewhere between 500 million to over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, according to Business Tech.
“We are very pleased with this second discovery and its very encouraging results, which prove the world-class nature of this offshore gas play,” said Arnaud Breuillac, the President of Exploration & Production at Total.
“With this discovery and the successful seismic acquisitions, Total and its partners have acquired important data on the Paddavissie fairway, which will help to progress development studies and engage with South African authorities regarding the possible conditions of the gas commercialization.”
The Luiperd well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 3400 metres and it encountered 73 metres of net gas condensate in ‘well-developed good quality’ Lower Cretaceous reservoirs, said Total.
After a comprehensive coring and logging program, the well will be tested to evaluate the characteristics and deliverability of the reservoir.
The region of the Outeniqua Basin where the discovery was made — Block 11B/12B — covers an area of 19 000 square kilometres, with water depths that range from 200 to 1800 metres.
Total owns a 45% working interest in this area, along with Qatar Petroleum (25%), CNR International (20%) and the South African consortium Main Street (10%).
