Venus, in the Orange Basin, is 290 km from the coast of southern Namibia in about 3,000 m water depth. The Maersk Voyage drillship drilled the discovery well, which encountered an oil-bearing sandstone reservoir in the Lower Cretaceous en route to TD of 6,296 m.
Another drillship, Tungsten Explorer, will initiate the campaign with the Venus -1A appraisal well, 13 km north of the Venus -1X discovery well. The Deepsea Mira semisubmersible will then perform a drillstem test at this location, followed by a reentry and sidetrack of Venus -1X for a flow test.
The goal of this program is to further assess the Venus reservoir and deliver dynamic data.
The focus will then switch to Block 2912 (PEL 91), thought to contain a potentially large westerly extension of the Venus Field. Here, Tungsten Explorer will drill and flow test the Nara -1X exploration well. If successful, drilling and flow testing would follow of the Nara -1A appraisal well.
Phil Birch, exploration director of Impact Oil & Gas, said successes on both blocks could result in two fully appraised early production centers. Other partners are QatarEnergy and NAMCOR.
