French oil and gas major Total has made an important gas condensate discovery on its Brulpadda prospects on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, offshore South Africa.
The super major’s drilling campaign, which started in the Brulpadda-1AX re-entry well on Block 11B/12B in December 2018, has yielded 57m of net gas condensate pay in Lower Cretaceous reservoirs.
The well was deepened to a final depth of 3,633m, which has also been successful.
“With this discovery, Total has opened a new world-class gas and oil play and is well positioned to test several follow-on prospects on the same block,” Total senior vice president for exploration Kevin McLachlan said in a statement on Thursday.
South Africa Mineral Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe has stated that a hydrocarbon discovery offshore South Africa would be a game changer for the country.
“If we can discover oil and gas here, that will be a game changer for South Africa in terms of the economy. We hope that we will discover oil so that we can reduce our dependence on imported crude oil,” Mantashe said in February.
The Brulpadda Prospect has resources of more than 500 million barrels, with significant follow on potential.
Following the success of Brulpadda and confirmation of its potential, Total and its partners plan to acquire 3D seismic this year, followed by up to four exploration wells on the licence.
Total is the project operator and has a 45 percent interest in Block 11B/12B, while Qatar Petroleum and Canadian Natural Resources have 25 percent and 20 percent interests, respectively.