Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, says Total’s significant gas discovery in the Outeniqua Basin off the southern coast of South Africa represents an exciting time for South Africa.

The French oil and gas company announced on Thursday that it had made a condensate gas discovery on the Brulpadda prospects, located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, 175 kilometers off the southern coast of the country.

Mantashe visited the rig last Saturday to receive an update on the drilling project. “It is exciting for our country that this discovery has been made. It is potentially a major boost for the economy, and we welcome it as we continue to seek investment to grow our economy,” he explains.

Finalising legislation

According to Total the Block 11B/12B covers an area of 19 000 square kilometers, with water depths ranging from 200 to 1,800 meters, and is operated by Total with a 45% working interest, alongside Qatar Petroleum (25%), CNR international (20%) and Main Street, a South African consortium (10%).

Mantashe adds that the discovery further confirms that government’s decision to separate legislation for oil and gas from traditional minerals, so that it can support this sector in realising its full potential, was the correct one.

He continues: “Government is moving with speed to finalise legislation to ensure that it’s presented as soon as the sixth Parliament sits.”

Top tech and expertise

“With this discovery, Total has opened a new world-class gas and oil play and is well positioned to test several follow-on prospects on the same block,” says Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at Total.

“We are very pleased to announce the Brulpadda discovery which was drilled in a challenging deepwater environment,” he adds, noting that the company leveraged its experience in similar environments and used the latest generation drilling ship for the exploration.

Total and its partners plan to acquire 3D seismic this year, followed by up to four exploration wells on this license.