South Africa could be heading for another stand-off between industrialists and environmental pressure groups after it has emerged that a Canadian energy exploration company is sending a rig to drill for oil about 25 kilometres off the West Coast north of Lamberts Bay.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas has confirmed that it has managed to secure the use of a rig, which is currently making its way to a site called Gazania-1 on Block 2B of the greater Orange Basin.
According to Eco Atlantic’s Norwegian partner, Panoro Energy ASA, the Gazania-1 well “is targeting best estimate gross prospective resources of 349 million barrels of oil”.
However, this figure remains subject to confirmation.
Quoting another Canadian energy explorer that is part of the drilling exercise, Panoro points out that these volumes are estimates of Africa Energy and have not been subject to assessment by a qualified third-party resource auditor.
Nevertheless, with a fourth partner in tow, Sweden’s Crown Energy, Eco Atlantic is proceeding with exploratory work it believes could put the company’s profit margins on a steep upward curve.
The company’s founder and chief executive, Gil Holzman, told investor channel Proactive that the coast off the Northern Cape was one of the most exciting areas for exploration on the planet.
The same channel reports that Colin Kinley, chief operating officer of the company, which holds 50% of the shares in Block B of the Orange Basin, said “a successful outcome at the Gazania-1 well has the potential to be transformational for Eco and our joint venture partners”.
The Basin comprises an area of more than 3 000 square kilometres and straddles South Africa’s ocean border with Namibia where Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell is said to have uncovered two billion barrels of crude, Proactive reports.
Several other energy multinationals, including ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, are also involved in exploratory work in the Basin.
Various sources have said that drilling is expected to commence in September – some saying early on, while others say that exploratory work will most likely only get under way towards the end of next month.
When it does, somewhere off the coast between Strandfontein in the south and Hondeklip Bay in the north, Eco Atlantic and its partners will drill for almost a month at a depth exceeding 50 metres, going as far down as 200 metres.
Eco Atlantic has indicated that, depending on what is discovered, it could also open up a side track.
Coming as it does at a time when energy concerns and staggering fuel prices have played havoc with South Africa’s economy, pressure groups opposed to continued oil and gas exploration on the country’s coastline have said they are surprised how the latest drilling exercise has been kept under wraps.
Last year Shell found itself in the crosshairs of environmentalists after it proceeded with seismic testing for shale gas on the ocean floor off the Wild Coast.
Liziwe McDaid, strategic lead for The Green Connection, said it was by coincidence that they had found out about Eco Atlantic’s plans for the West Coast, adding that they wouldn’t allow drilling of the ocean floor to go ahead.
