Mining a “source rock” for the battery industry
It is too easy to think that oil and gas is at one end of the energy spectrum, and renewables at the other. In fact, when digging a bit deeper,…
Africa
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.…
Namibia – Looking at the factors that cause concern when it comes to developing the recent deep-water finds
“People don’t dream anymore”, said Marcio Mello when he started his talk about Namibia’s deep-water petroleum plays at the IMAGE conference in Houston in August 2024, referring to the dreaming…
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Namibia – Brazil: Where memes collide and where we go next From outdated to new memes: How recent discoveries in Namibia’s Orange Basin are shaping exploration strategies for Brazil’s Pelotas…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…
AOW moving out of Cape Town is the talk of the town
It is the first time for me to attend the Africa Oil Week Conference in Cape Town. And it will also be my last. For the time being at least.…
Never say no
“I was born disciplined”, says Aluka at the start of the interview. “With my parents both being academics, it was no surprise that I wanted to learn”, she continues, “but…
Côte d’Ivoire – The new West African exploration hotspot
Location and coverage map of Viridien’s 16,000 km2 multi-client PSDM re-imaging program along the Côte d’Ivoire margin showing current held acreage, fields and recent discoveries. A new regional framework for…
Helium One’s bumpy road to success
First of all, the rig. During the initial exploration campaign that started in 2021, Helium One used a slimline mining rig. This is probably a contributing factor to a range…
Africa on course for busiest year since 2020
“Combined with the commercial success rate for the wells drilled so far being better than 50%, this year is looking promising for hydrocarbon exploration across the African continent”, said Jamie…