Owambo Basin explorers looking for partners

Hydrocarb Energy Corporation, the Texas-based exploration company which holds a majority stake in the Owambo Basin Concession in northern Namibia, is looking for joint-venture partners to help it explore the 21 300-square-metre-wide concession area. In a statement issued last week, the company confirmed that it had executed three confidentiality agreements with firms interested in exploring the area, which is situated next to the Angolan border. Hydrocarb Energy currently holds 90% working interest in the Owambo Basin concession, while the State’s National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) holds the remaining 10%. Last year, the company announced that it had covered approximately 15% of the area through seismic data, with activity in the area to pick up as more data was obtained. Last week, the company updated this information, saying it had identified 16 new structural leads. “With the discovery of 16 new leads and last year’s field study results, we are moving ahead with seismic studies, and our next step is to bring in an industry partner to expand our exploration efforts in the Owambo Basin,” Hydrocarb President Chuck Dommer said. The field studies conducted in 2013, the company said, proved the existence of “excellent high-porosity reservoir rocks, potential source rocks, in addition to soil sampling indicating the presence of crude oil from a test well.” The company owns exploration concessions in Africa, production concessions in Galveston Bay in the USA, and an oil field services licence in the United Arab Emirates. WINDHOEK DENVER ISAACS