Oil major Shell has acquired a share in the Transkei & Algoa blocks offshore South Africa from Impact Oil & Gas.
Following completion of the transaction, first agreed on in November 2020, Shell is now the operator of the block with a 50% stake and Impact Oil & Gas owns the remaining 50%. stake.
Also, Impact said Tuesday that the South African Government had granted the Second Renewal Period of the license. This is a two-year exploration period that started in August 2021.
Impact and Shell plan to proceed with the acquisition of about 6,000 km2 of 3D seismic during 2022.
Siraj Ahmed, CEO of Impact Oil & Gas, said: “We are very pleased to have concluded this transaction with Shell; a world-class operator with deepwater expertise. We look forward to working with Shell to build on the considerable work done to date and further explore this exciting exploration province. "
“This transaction, and the proposed 3D seismic acquisition program, enables Impact to deliver on its objective of accelerating the exploration of the transform margin of the South African Natal Trough, which Impact believes has significant potential.”
Transkei & Algoa is located offshore eastern South Africa and covers approximately 45,838km² in water depths up to 3,000 meters.
The Algoa block is situated in the South Outeniqua Basin, near Total's Block 11B/12B, containing the Brulpadda gas condensate discovery and where Total has recently announced a further significant gas condensate discovery, following the successful drilling of the Luiperd-1X exploration well.
The Transkei block is located north-east of Algoa in the Natal Trough Basin where Impact says it has identified highly material prospectivity associated with several large submarine fan bodies, which the new joint venture will explore with focused 3D seismic data and then potential exploratory drilling.