Rhino Finds Hydrocarbons in Orange Basin Block Offshore Namibia

Noble Venturer drillship (Credit: Noble Corporation)
Noble Venturer drillship (Credit: Noble Corporation)

Rhino Resources has completed the drilling of the Sagittarius 1-X well at PEL85 license in Orange Basin, offshore Namibia, encountering a hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir.

The Sagittarius 1-X well was spud on December 18, 2024 using Noble’s drillship Noble Venturer, reaching the total depth of February 6, 2025.

The well penetrated Upper Cretaceous targets and intersected a hydrocarbon reservoir, with no observed water contact, Rhino reported.

Intensive wireline logging operations allowed for the collection of hydrocarbon samples and sidewall cores. Fluid and reservoir properties will be confirmed with later laboratory analysis, the company said.

The drilling operations on the Sagittarius-1X well have now concluded and Noble Venturer drillship has moved to drill the second well in the program, the Capricornus, which will test a different fairway.

“We are pleased to have safely and successfully completed the drilling of the first exploration well in our program on PEL 85. The hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir encountered is evidence for the effectiveness of charge, although further assessment will be required by Rhino and the PEL 85 JV partners to evaluate the results of the well.

“Our attention now turns to the second target in the program, which is the Capricornus prospect, a NE-SW trending channel system. The Capricornus-1X well is due to be spud within the next 24 hours and is estimated to take 47 days to drill,” said Travis Smithard, Rhino’s CEO.

Rhino Resources holds a 42.5% interest in PEL 85, with partners Azule Energy (42.5%), Namcor (10%) and Korres Investments (5%).

Current News

Shell Makes FID for Deepwater Gato do Mato Project off Brazil

Shell Makes FID for Deepwater

Hellenic Cables, Asso.subsea Get Dunkerque Offshore Wind Farm’s Cabling Job

Hellenic Cables, Asso.subsea G

Golar LNG Brings In Chinese Investors for FLNG Gimi Refinancing

Golar LNG Brings In Chinese In

Odfjell Technology Takes Share in Reelwell for $3.8M

Odfjell Technology Takes Share

Subscribe for OE Digital E‑News

Offshore Engineer Magazine