Africa

The writing was on the wall

Yesterday, Reuters broke the news that Shell has written off a $400 million exploration investment over “an oil discovery” in PEL39 in Namibia’s deep-water area. Even though a field name…

Helium found in new and unexpected places

In Finland, 80 Mile positively tested copper-zinc exploration boreholes, while Pulsar Helium has drilled an appraisal well in Minnesota after nickel exploration accidentally found helium. In South Africa, Renergen is…

Oil does not care about boundaries

In the early decades of oil ex­ploration and production, from the 1860s to the early 1900s, the concept of an oil field having clear boundaries was not given much thought.…

South Atlantic – a raging bonfire of memes

Namibia – Brazil: Where memes collide and where we go next From outdated to new memes: How recent discoveries in Namibia’s Orange Basin are shaping exploration strategies for Brazil’s Pelotas…

Subsurface exploration by plane

Data, particularly information about subsurface geology, is key to successfully exploiting natural resources, be they mineral, hydrocarbon or renewables such as geothermal and natural hydrogen. Especially in Africa, where large…

Ivorian renaissance

The petroleum provinces of Cote d’Ivoire are amongst the hottest properties in the exploration sector at the moment. While oil and gas regulators and operators work hard to stimulate investment…

Bid rounds – is it time to consider another model?

Against a backdrop of civil unrest, political un­certainty and unattractive fiscal regimes, it is no sur­prise that there is limited interest from international investors to embark on an exploration adventure…