Tower Signs New Namibia Licence
AIM-listed explorer Tower Resources said November 7 it signed a new petroleum agreement (PA) in Namibia covering an 80% operated interest in offshore blocks 1910A, 1911 and 1912B. Its partners are Namibian state explorer Namcor with 10%; and local partner ZM Fourteen Investment CC, with 10%.
It covers blocks 1910A, 1911 and 1912B cover 23,297 km2 in the Walvis Basin and Dolphin Graben. The initial exploration period is four years with a $5mn work commitment. Tower said its PA is “in an under-explored region in which recent drilling results have proven the presence of a working oil-prone petroleum system”. Tower said there is interest from others, citing recent nearby farm-ins by Exxon and Kosmos.
Blocks 1910A and 1911 were part of Tower's original licence PEL0010, which Tower and partners Repsol and Arcadia relinquished in 2015. Repsol drilled the unsuccessful Welwitschia well on block 1911 in 2014. But recent wells by Chariot Oil & Gas and Tullow Oil off Namibia were dry; Total and UK minnow Eco Atlantic plan wells in the second half of 2019. Plans to develop the 1974 Kudu gas discovery continue to be deferred.