BP has confirmed that the Capricornus 1-X exploration well in Namibia’s Orange Basin flowed more than 11,000 stock tank barrels (stb) per day during production testing, the company said on Thursday.
The well, drilled in Petroleum Exploration License 85, is operated by Rhino Resources with a 42.5% working interest. Co-venturers include Azule Energy with 42.5%, Namcor with 10% and Korres Investments with 5%. BP and Eni each hold a 50% stake in Azule Energy.
Spudded on 17 February using the Noble Venturer drillship, the well reached total depth on April 2, 2025, encountering 38 metres of net pay in the Lower Cretaceous target. According to Rhino Resources, the reservoir demonstrated good petrophysical properties with no observed water contact. Hydrocarbon samples and sidewall cores were acquired through intensive wireline logging.
The production test confirmed a surface-constrained flow rate exceeding 11,000 stb per day on a 40/64-inch choke. The well produced light, 37-degree-API oil with limited associated gas, containing less than 2% CO2 and no hydrogen sulphide. Fluid samples collected during the test will undergo laboratory analysis. The well will now be temporarily plugged and abandoned, and the rig will be released.
Namibia’s Orange Basin covers a massive span of 160,000 square kilometres and is considered one of the most promising areas for hydrocarbons exploration in the world. Its potential has yet to be seen, with Shell and Chevron each reporting in January 2025 that their exploration activities returned no commercially viable hydrocarbons.
However, coinciding with the results of the Capricornus 1-X exploration well, Chevron announced that it is considering drilling new exploration wells off Nambia in 2026 or 2027.