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National oil company PetroSA and energy and chemicals group Sasol were set to explore a block on the West Coast of South Africa after teaming up for the first time in a decade.
A technical cooperation permit (TCP) agreement between the parties will enable the exploration of Block 3A/4A – a 19 066 km2, 100-m- to 500-m-deep block within the Orange basin, along the country’s western shore.
“The rationale for the partnership with Sasol is that South Africa wins when the country’s two oil and gas companies work together to leverage their respective expertise,” said PetroSA CEO Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo in a statement on Monday.
The TCP, which will be operated by PetroSA, outlines 50% equity for each party in the large and relatively underexplored block.
PetroSA would undertake geochemical analysis, basin modelling and seismic interpretation to evaluate the acreage’s hydrocarbon prospectivity, she added.
The deal followed PetroSA’s numerous strategic cooperation partnerships during the past two years with oil and gas companies such as Sinopec, Eni, PetroMoc and the Korea National Oil Corporation, besides others, in efforts to secure liquid fuels supply in South Africa.