Rand and stocks retreat |

BIG GAME-CHANGER FOR SA

FRENCH oil and gas company Total revealed yesterday that it had made a significant gas condensate discovery on the Brulpadda prospects after drilling in deep-sea waters, 175km off the southern coast of South Africa. Located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, Total said the Brulpadda well encountered 57 metres of net gas condensate pay in Lower Cretaceous reservoirs. The Block 11B/12B covers an area of 19 000km², with water depths ranging from 200m to 1 800m, and is operated by Total with a 45 percent working interest, alongside Qatar Petroleum, CNR International and South African consortium, Main Street. Kevin McLachlan, senior vicepresident for exploration at Total, said the well was deepened to a final depth of 3 633m and has also been successful in the Brulpadda-deep prospect. “We are very pleased to announce the Brulpadda discovery which was drilled in a challenging deep-water environment,” McLachlan said. “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 drilled the exploration well with the latest generation drilling ship and was able to leverage its experience in similar environments in West Shetland in the UK. Total said that it and its partners planned to acquire 3D seismic this year followed by up to four exploration wells on the licence. When he visited Total’s deepsea rig operations on Saturday, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said that the government would give all the support it could to the project because the discovery of oil and gas would reduce the country’s dependence on imported crude oil. |