South Africa: Total announces ground-breaking oil discovery

This breakthrough is expected to attract major oil companies in exploring the blocks they have already acquired which will subsequently drive major new upstream oil activity offshore.

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2521

The recent gas condensate discovery by Total in South Africa has set the stage for a significant contribution to the nation’s economic development as it will assist in reducing dependency on imports of oil and gas.

The discovery on the Brulpadda prospects is located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, 175kilometers off the southern coast of South Africa.

The Brulpadda well encountered 57meters of net gas condensate pay in Lower Cretaceous reservoirs. Following the success of the main objective, the well was deepened to a final depth of 3,633meters 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”, said Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at Total.

“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 this exploration well with the latest generation drilling ship and was able to leverage its experience in similar environments, such as the West of Shetland, UK. Following the  success  of  Brulpadda and  confirmation  of  the  play  potential, Total  and  its partners plan to acquire 3D seismic this year, followed by up to four exploration wells on this license.

The  Block  11B/12B  covers  an  area  of  19,000  square  kilometers, with  water  depths  ranging from 200  to  1,800  meters,  and  is  operated  by  Total with  a  45%  working  interest, alongside Qatar Petroleum (25%), CNR international (20%) and Main Street, a South African consortium(10%).

About Total in South Africa
Total has been present in South Africa since 1954. The Group is active on the whole oil and gas value chain and directly employs 1,000 people in the country. Upstream, Total has developed oil and gas exploration activities in the Outeniqua basin with operating interests in two blocks, 11B /12B and South Outeniqua.

Downstream, Total, which is ranked in the top four petroleum products market companies in South Africa, operates about 550 service stations throughout the country and is present in all other business segments (lubricants, B2B, aviation, LPG, other specialties).

It also has interest in the Natref refinery in Sasolburg. Through SunPower  affiliate,  Total  has  also  been  developing  solar  projects  and  locally producing photovoltaic panels. Since 2016, its Prieska solar power plant (installed capacity of 75  megawatt-peak),  located  in  the  Northern  Cape,  has  been  supplying electricity  to  the equivalent of 70,000 households.

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