South Africa: Orange Basin Deep

Impact was awarded the Orange Basin Deep TCP in December 2016 with Total joining as Operating partner in Sepember 2017.

The license lies 220km west of Cape Town in water depths between 2,800 to 4,200 meters. Oil plays identified in this area are similar to those containing large potential reserves in our Namibia licence.

 

The application area is located along and beyond the ocean-continental boundary which forms the western margin of the Orange River Basin. The oceanic crust in this location is believed to date from approximately 135ma and initial sedimentation probably comprised highly organic deep-water marine shales of Neocomian age, representing the primary candidate source rock, with interbedded marine fan sands of Barremian to Aptian age being the primary candidate reservoir. These sands were the product of up to 2km of uplift and early to middle Cretaceous erosion of mainly Paleozoic Pan-African terrains from the adjacent coastal area, which were introduced to the marine basin through deltas belonging to the paleo Orange and Olifants rivers. Renewed hinterland uplift and erosion during the late Cretaceous may have provided further sand pulses into the deep offshore of the Orange Basin Deep TCP, forming potential secondary reservoirs and providing sufficient overburden to thermally mature Neocomian and Aptian source rocks.

A Technical evaluation is underway to assess the prospectivity of apron fans that have up-dip pinch-out seals against the outer high of the continental crust in the north-east of the Orange Deep TCP area and against oceanic crust in the west and south-west of the area.

Allocation of Interest

TotalEnergies E&P South Africa B.V. 48.61% (Operator)
Impact Oil and Gas Ltd 22.22%
Qatar Energies 29.17%