South Africa is seen as a less-welcoming environment for oil companies than Namibia
Venus appraisal set for first-quarter start
The Orange basin’s promising upstream looks likely to gather momentum in 2023, once again led by the flagship Venus and Graff discoveries
Developers will start appraisal drilling work at the Venus discovery in Namibia by the end of this quarter, minority stakeholder Toronto-listed Africa Oil confirms. “We are heading into a busy operational year with the potentially transformational appraisal drilling on the Venus discovery,” says the firm’s CEO Keith Hill. Africa Oil owns a stake in Impact Oil and Gas, which in turn holds 20pc of the Venus discovery. TotalEnergies operates Venus with a 40pc share, while other partners in the project comprise state-owned QatarEnergy (30pc) and Namibian NOC Namcor (10pc). Namibian waters became a global hotspot for offshore exploration last year following back-to-back exploration successes at
Also in this section
23 April 2025
Oil and gas prices could come crashing down, resurrecting ghosts of trade wars past
23 April 2025
Capping state corporate income tax deductions would reduce energy supplies and raise prices
22 April 2025
Saudi Arabia is growing as a geopolitical and diplomatic force amid an increasingly fractured world
22 April 2025
Modest downward revisions to 2025 supply belie the longer-term damage to E&P from a weaker oil market
