The recent deep-water discoveries (i.e., Venus and Graff) by Total, Shell, and others in the Orange Basin of Namibia triggered an exploration renaissance in the South Atlantic. Upstream News reported in August, 2023 that the country’s top petroleum officials estimated the discoveries to hold at least 11 billion barrels of light oil and up to 8.7 trillion cubic feet of gas.
These discoveries have highlighted a new, under-explored post-rift, pre-Tertiary Cretaceous turbidite play along the Southern African Margin and its potential extension into the conjugate Southern American Margin.
Recent leasing activity offshore Brazil (Pelotas Basin) and Uruguay (Pelotas and Punta del Este Basins) resulted in several licenses awarded to Petrobras, Shell, Chevron, CNOOC, Apache Corporation, YPF, and Challenger Energy. Further south in offshore Argentina, renewed interest in the Cretaceous turbidite play resulted in several leases in the Salado, Colorado, and Rawson basins. The well on the Argerich prospect, to be drilled in deep waters of the Colorado Basin by Equinor and partners YPF and Shell, will be the first play test.
This webinar will summarize geological analogies between the emerging Cretaceous turbidite play successfully tested offshore Namibia and its conjugate Southern American Margin.