Australian oil and gas exploration company Strata-X Energy has been given approval by the Botswana Department of Environmental Affairs to drill and test an additional 75 wells at its fully-owned Serowe coalbed methane project.
The company holds 320,000 acres in the Botswana-based high-grade area, which spans five, fully owned licenses. Environmental approvals acquired in 2018 granted Strata-X the right to drill and test 20 wells. Through an environmental impact assessment approval, Strata-X now has the authorization to drill and test up to 95 wells covering the entire high-grade area before converting it to full scale production licenses.
“[Our] focus on the high-grade area will be a major growth driver. A multi-well appraisal drilling and production testing program within the high-grade area that steps out from the 19B-1 well is planned for 2020,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The multi-well appraisal program will include the production testing of wells to acquire fluid flow rate data as required to design a multi-well CSG production pilot program to prove commercial gas flow rates.