Namibian government grants license extension to Hydrocarb

Hydrocarb Energy Corporation has announced that its subsidiary, Hydrocarb Namibia Energy Corporation Ltd., has received a one year license extension and an environmental clearance to complete the 2D data acquisition portion of the Initial Exploration Period of its' 2011 Petroleum Agreement with the Republic of Namibia.

In early 2013 the company obtained and analyzed legacy seismic which covered about 15% of its 21 300 km² (5.3 million acre) concession in the Owambo Basin. The Owambo Basin is located in northern Namibia and extends into the oil producing country of Angola. HECC interpreted the seismic data and mapping confirmed the giant Oponono prospect. Consequently, HECC contracted Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI) to create an independent resource assessment. The NSAI resource assessment estimated 1.1 billion bbls of unrisked potential oil in place in the Oponono prospect. Warranting follow on work, the company determined that it would be beneficial to the exploration process to fly a high resolution aero-gravity and magnetics survey over in the entire concession. That survey uncovered 14 additional leads that have a similar footprint to the Oponono prospect and for which the company strongly believes merit additional seismic exploration.

Subsequent to the aero-gravity and magnetics survey, the company in late 2014 commenced an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in preparation for an expanded seismic acquisition program. Hydrocarb also requested and has now received a one year extension with the plan to acquire new seismic data in order to high grade its 14 new leads into prospects. The Company was also issued a clearance certificate on its' environmental management plan for acquiring the 750 km of 2D seismic. All this work was a prerequisite to the seismic project as outlined in the Petroleum Law of Namibia and the 2011 Petroleum Agreement.

The CEO of the company's exploration subsidiary Hydrocarb Corporation (HCN), Chuck Dommer stated, "We are glad to receive this environmental land use clearance, permitting us to move forward with a necessary license extension. This reflects a vote of confidence by Namibia, providing us necessary time to complete our seismic project. We remain confident in the huge potential in our concession blocks of the Owambo basin."

Newly appointed "HCN" President, Dr. Tobie Aupindi, commented, "The African strategy part of our global vision is always to go an extra mile in carrying out the geophysical work. Sometimes the scientific data coming from the geophysical evaluation dictates that we must increase our expense and time on exploration components that were not part of the initial work commitment, but which can provide even better exploration results. This is exactly what we are experiencing in the Owambo basin and are excited to move forward." 

Hydrocarb Energy holds a 90% working interest in the highly prospective Owambo Basin concession in northern Namibia with the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR), holding the remaining 10%. Extensive geologic field studies were completed over the last four years supporting the existence of excellent high-porosity reservoir rocks as well as soil sampling indicating the presence of crude oil derived from a carbonate source.

Adapted from a press release by David Bizley

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/12082015/namibian-government-grants-license-extension-to-hydrocarb/