Global Petroleum raises money to strengthen Namibia foothold after Total and Shell discoveries

Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo says recent drilling by TotalEnergies of France and Shell could see his country become the latest oil producer on Africa’s Atlantic coast.

Against this background, Melbourne-based Global Petroleum (AIM: GBP) has raised £800,000 in new shares at 0.35 pence each, which it says will “significantly” strengthen its position in relation to options for its petroleum exploration licence PEL 0094 in offshore Namibian waters.

Warrants are also being issued at an exercise price of 0.7 pence which, if exercised, will add a further £800,000 to Global’s bank account.

Mr Alweendo was interviewed on the sidelines of an oil conference in Dakar, Senegal, last week and said he expected that the Total and Shell discoveries would result in “billions of barrels” of oil being confirmed, with the companies each indicating they are looking at a four-year time to production.

Total, Shell doing follow-up drilling north of Global’s target

Global’s licence covers 5,798sq km of the Walvis Basin and has seabed depths ranging between 450m and 550m.

The company has a participating interest of 78% of the project with free carried interests of 17% and 5% held respectively by the Namibian state energy company, Namcor, and privately owned Aloe Industries.

Global noted that Total has confirmed it will drill an appraisal well to north of Global’s licence area next year.

Shell has also stated that, following its Graff-1 discovery and then another at La Rona-1 earlier this year, that it will proceed with more appraisal and exploration wells in order to prove commerciality and, in addition, design a development plan.

Global believes it shares reservoir ‘commonality’ with discoveries

Global says there is a commonality of both source and reservoir between the Shell and TotalEnergies discoveries in the Orange Basin and its own PEL 0094.

The Melbourne-based company believes that the Walvis Basin where it is located also has the potential to be “extremely successful” — but also that Global has the advantage of much shallower water depths, in general, than the other discoveries.

It considers the Walvis Basin significantly underexplored with only eight wells drilled to-date by Norsk Hydro, South Africa’s Sasol and others.

These wells have encountered multiple source rocks and reservoir intervals, as well as some with hydrocarbon shows.