Returning exploration to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is enduring the worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948. Its economy has been on a general downward trend since 2018, shrank by nearly 8 % in 2022 – 2023, and only posted growth in the Final…
Exploration
Rise of onshore exploration campaigns in southwest Africa
ReconAfrica has spud the Naingopo exploration well onshore northeast Namibia on PEL 73 (partners Namcor) on July 7, 2024. This latest drilling campaign will be the first to target the Damara Fold Belt, a northwest/southeast-trending series of thrusts forming a…
The High Impact Hydrocarbon Potential of the Orange Basin
While the Mississippi, Congo, Nile, and many other major deltas around the world have been, and are being, successfully explored and developed, the vast Orange Basin offshore South Africa and Namibia has only recently started to reveal its enormous potential.…
Gas Renaissance in Europe
The drive for gas development gathers momentum, as increased energy prices spur on investment; conflict and political instability encourage domestic supply priorities; and post-pandemic macro-economic demands counter global warming hysteria Energy demand continues to grow in Europe, where mature gas…
Barents Sea “Nondiscussed” Area
The disputed area between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea, equalling the Norwegian North Sea in size, has a different petroleum system than the proven oil and gas provinces to the west and east. With pre-Jurassic source rocks, the…
A Company Maker
The Bream (17/12-1) and Brisling (17/12-2) oil accumulations in the Egersund Basin of the North Sea were both discovered in the early 1970’s. A few years later, albeit more than 25 years ago, the 18/10-1 oil accumulation was discovered in…
Towards a World Record
Innovative drilling technology now makes it possible to drill into satellite fields that are located several kilometres away from the original field. Hot Spot Towards a Wolrd Record
Timor-Leste: Exploration Renaissance
Insight into the current hydrocarbon exploration potential and activity in Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste: Exploration Renaissance The island of Timor-Leste between Indonesia and Australia is the subject of some intense scrutiny these days, delivering opportunities for an oil and gas industry focused…
UAE – Looking Outward
A cautious road to international participation in upstream exploration in the UAE, with hydrogen in hot pursuit. The Middle East is not a region associated with open international participation, since the nationalisation of resources in the 1970s, but strong trends…
Progress in Pakistan
Hydrocarbon success in the hinterland of Pakistan’s major fold and thrust belts. Pakistan is an important gas-producing country with growing demand for energy. Like other mature petroleum provinces with strong state influence and good industry management by the national regulator,…
Australia’s Beetaloo shale play
The Beetaloo Basin has, until recent years, been underexplored, with explorers believing the Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic (1.0–1.7 billion years ago) sequences too old to support hydrocarbons. However, following successful drilling campaigns in recent years, spurred on by advances in unconventional…
Oil & Gas Exploration: The Tide Turns
Global wildcatting is poised to go from ebb to flood, with exploration hotspots set to include Mexico, Brazil, US Gulf of Mexico, the Middle East, Angola, Gabon, Namibia, Suriname, the UK North Sea and Egypt. Global exploration operations have stalled…