If oil is discovered offshore South Africa, it would be a game changer for the country, said South African Mineral Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe.
Leading a delegation on an excursion to the Total Exploration and Production Southern Africa’s Deepsea Stavenger Rig operations on Saturday, the Minister said that the potential discovery of oil would greatly decrease South Africa’s dependence of imported crude.
“If we can discover oil and gas here, that will be a game changer for the country in terms of the economy. We hope that we will discover oil so that we can reduce our dependence on imported crude oil,” Mantashe said.
Total started drilling the Brulpadda-1AX re-entry well on Block 11B/12B in December, after a four-year hiatus caused by strong currents and bad weather.
Block 11B/12B is located in the Outeniqua Basin approximately 175Km off the southern coast of South Africa. The block covers an area of 18,734m2 with water depths ranging from 200 to 2,000m.
Total is set to announce the results of its deepwater drilling operation in the Brulpadda field within days.