Highlights
• Commencement of 2D seismic acquisition program for Petroleum Exploration Licence 93 (PEL
93 or the Licence) over the Owambo Basin, Namibia.
• 88 Energy has earned an initial 20% working interest in PEL 93 by funding the seismic
program.
• The program has been designed to acquire a minimum of ~200-line km of 2D seismic data,
with completion expected in Q3 2024.
• Acquired seismic data is to be used as part of the validation process for up to 10 independent
structural closures identified from airborne gravity and magnetic data.
• Expected program outcomes include estimation of a maiden Prospective Resource and
identification of future potential drilling locations.
• Imminent commencement of drilling of the first of up to four wells by a nearby operator in the
Owambo Basin represents a significant catalyst for understanding the onshore resource
potential in Namibia.
88 Energy Limited (88 Energy or the Company) is pleased to
announce the commencement of the 2D seismic data acquisition program for PEL 93. The program
has been designed to acquire approximately 200-line km of 2D seismic data. PEL 93 covers
18,500km2 of underexplored sub-surface within the Owambo Basin in Namibia. 88 Energy, through
its wholly-owned Namibian subsidiary, holds a 20% working interest in PEL 93, with an option to
earn up to a 45% non-operated interest via additional staged farm-in activities.
Polaris Natural Resources Development Ltd (Polaris) was awarded the contract for the 2D
seismic acquisition program (refer to 88 Energy’s ASX announcement, 10 May 2024) and
mobilised vibroseis units and recording equipment to location late June 2024. Polaris expects to
complete the program in Q3 2024, with data processing anticipated to be finalised Q4 2024. Results
from the new 2D seismic acquisition will be integrated with existing historical exploration data to
refine current prospect interpretation. The outcome of this program will be the quantification of the
size of the prospective resource through a certified Prospective Resource estimate, as well as the
identification of future potential drilling locations.
Subsurface investigations
completed from 2018 to date
on PEL 93 by Monitor
Exploration (Namibia) Pty Ltd
included a range of
geophysical and geochemical
techniques to assess and
validate the significant potential
of the acreage. This included
airborne gravity and magnetics,
reprocessing of existing 2D
seismic coverage, as well as
measuring methane and ethane
concentrations in soil samples
over interpreted structural leads
to successfully validate the existence of an active petroleum system. Passive seismic anomalies
from this work aligned closely to both interpreted structural leads and measured alkane molecules
(c1-c5) concentrations in soil.
Initial exploration in the Owambo Basin has focused on the shallow Karoo Play, with recent
attention turning to the substantial potential of the deeper and largely untested Damara Play. The
Damara Play resulted from a large fold and thrust episode, leading to large, anticlinal structures
providing significant independent targets for exploration of an equivalent size to those discovered
offshore Namibia. An exploration renaissance is underway in the region, with approximately 88%
of recent offshore wells have successfully discovered oil.
Damara Play Exploration Drilling Update
Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd plan to spud imminently, the first of four planned wells, in welldefined prospects within two distinct regional plays (Karoo and Damara), as part of an initial exploration
drilling campaign in PEL073 and PEL001, on the flanks of the Owambo basin.
The Damara Play is characterised by several coherent, mappable, large fold and thrust structures which
generated 19 prospects and 4 leads certified by third party resource auditor, NSAI. The target structures
observed are up to 25km in length and between 3 and 5km wide. Reservoirs are expected to be
encountered in both the marine/fluvial sandstones of the Mulden formation as well as the fractured
carbonates of the Otavi Supergroup. The Otavi group was penetrated in well 6-2 and contained oil
shows on mud logs as well as oil saturations in side-wall cores.
The Pre-Rift Karoo play interval is interpreted to be late Neo-Proterozoic to Early Palaeozoic
sedimentary rocks which are analogous to the sediments of the Owambo Basin to the west. Given their
depth, modelled maturation, geological age and geochemical data from wells and seeps, the
hydrocarbons are expected to be both light oil and gas.
This announcement has been authorised by the Board.