Tests of Volans gas-condensate discovery offshore Namibia prove positive

Rhino Resources has confirmed strong results of recent testing of last year’s Volans-1X discovery in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia.

The Deepsea Mira semisub drilled the well on offshore Block 2914A. It reached a total depth of 4,497.5 m TVDSS on Aug. 30 last year, having penetrated the Upper Cretaceous target.

Then on Oct. 1, the Rhino-led partnership declared a high liquid-yield gas condensate discovery in good-quality reservoir.

Follow-up well testing operations took place between Jan. 5 and 13 of this year, during which the well was perforated across 29.7 m of the target reservoir interval.

The results were as follows:

• Strong deliverability: 33 MMcf/d of gas and ~5,300 bbl/d of condensate on a 46/64 choke;
• High liquid gas condensate: CGR of ~160 STB/MMcf; and
• Low CO₂ and H₂S content: 1-2% CO₂ and about 3 ppm H₂S (highest value of 5 ppm in 200 samples).

“These well test results validate our pre-drill optimism around Volans with the flow data suggesting that Volans-1x well was drilled in a geologically contiguous reservoir system, which is very encouraging for our ongoing development planning purposes.The test confirmed good flow rates of hydrocarbons, with liquid production in line with the condensate-gas-ratio range that we had previously guided. The data also indicates the useful calibration with the discovery at Capricornus, which has served to de-risk Volans and provide a far more holistic understanding of the reservoir distributions across the block. These positive test results are critical in informing Rhino, in collaboration with our partners Azule Energy, NAMCOR and Korres on how to assess the next steps for appraisal, development and production planning across the acreage.”

—Travis Smithard, CEO, Rhino Resources

PEL 85, where the well was drilled, is operated by Rhino (42.5%), with co-venturers Azule Energy (42.5%), NAMCOR NAMIBIA (10%) and Korres Investments (5%).