Shell May Drill $200 Million Well Off South Africa ------------------------------------------------------- Shell, Europe’s largest oil producer, may drill off South Africa’s northwest coast next year after studying geological data from the area. The company based in The Hague, acquired 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) of 3-D seismic data of the Orange basin, Shell South Africa General Manager Jan Willem Eggink said in an interview in Johannesburg on Nov. 5. The information is being processed and should be ready by December, he said. Shell has started an environmental impact study “so that if we will go ahead to drill a well we will be ready,” he said. The timing of a prospect well would be due to rig availability and the weather window, Eggink said. The cost of each well would be US $150 million to $200 million because of the deep water. South Africa had proven oil reserves of 15 MMbbl in January 2011, located to the south and off the west coast near the Namibian border, according to Oil and Gas Journal. The country, isolated from foreign investment until apartheid ended in 1994, has no “significant” crude output, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Shell’s area is close to the border of Namibia in water ranging from 500 m (1,640 ft) to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in depth, according to Eggink. epmag/
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 19:19:22 +0000
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