Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd (ReconAfrica) has announced it is on schedule to drill its largest oil and gas prospect to date—Prospect I—within Petroleum Exploration Licence 073 (PEL 73) in northeastern Namibia.
The company confirmed that the well is expected to be spudded this quarter, targeting substantial prospective resources in both oil and natural gas.
“We remain on track to spud the well this quarter and are looking forward to unlocking the significant potential of the Damara Fold Belt,” said Brian Reinsborough, President and CEO of ReconAfrica.
An independent resource assessment conducted by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI) estimates that Prospect I—also referred to as Location 63—holds approximately 365 million barrels of unrisked and 32 million barrels of risked prospective light to medium oil resources.
Additionally, the site may contain up to 1.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of unrisked and 140 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of risked natural gas.
Reinsborough expressed confidence in the upcoming drilling campaign, highlighting the momentum gained from the company’s earlier Naingopo exploration well.
“We are excited to be making great progress ahead of drilling one of the company’s largest and most attractive prospects. The results from the Naingopo well, announced in January 2025, increased our confidence in Prospect I’s potential,” he said.
Pre-construction activities are currently underway, and pre-drill evaluations have already been completed. The well is planned to reach a depth of 3,800 metres, with the possibility of extending deeper depending on geological findings.
Reinsborough also noted that insights from the Naingopo well have enhanced the company’s geological model of the Damara Fold Belt, particularly in terms of time and depth migration for the Mulden and Otavi formations.
One of the key targets, the Otavi formation, is expected to have a thickness ranging from 1,500 to 1,800 metres. During the Naingopo campaign, ReconAfrica encountered more than 50 metres of reservoir-quality carbonates with oil shows in this section.
ReconAfrica currently holds petroleum licences covering approximately 8 million contiguous acres across the Kalahari Desert in northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana.
