Kavango Basin: Global Benchmarking And Exploration Potential Review.pdf

The Kavango Basin formed through a combination of rifting and shearing, most likely in the Permian to Triassic period. According to ReconAfrica and studies on the basin, the basin represents one of the largest onshore undeveloped hydrocarbon basins in the world. Up to 30,000 feet of sedimentary fill has been estimated, with up to 6,000 feet of which could be a Permian age petroleum system. Extrapolation from a control well indicates that source rocks should be present in the lower intervals of the Permian. Modelling has shown that this potential source rock is overlain by classic tilted fault block traps, which have provided the basis for conventional traps in other hydrocarbon rich basins.

A number of the characteristics identified in the basin to date indicate that the basin could have the right combination of factors to have a working petroleum system. Further exploration is required to determine if this is the case, which ReconAfrica is scheduled to undertake in Q1 2021. Wood Mackenzie undertook a process to identify a number of basins that are potential analogues to the Kavango Basin. The selected basins are the US Midland Basin, the Southern North Sea Basin, and the Chad Doba Basin.

The US Midland Basin is a mature oil producing Permian basin in Texas, with first production in the 1930s and a peak production in 1972. The development of the basin during the Permian period is analogous to the formation of the Kavango Basin, with a number of sub-basins and intrabasinal highs. The Southern North Sea Basin is one of the most prolific gas producing areas in the world, with the main phase of its exploration starting in the 1960s. The Chad Doba Basin is located in the south of Chad and is part of the Cretaceous age Central African Rift Basin.

All of the basins have exploited conventional resources first and it is only the Midland Basin where commercial production has more recently occurred from unconventional resources. Availability of infrastructure has been the key trigger to the realization of commercial production from the basins, once exploration has proved the potential for commercially viable hydrocarbon accumulations. Should the petroleum system in the Kavango Basin mirror that of any of the analogue basins the potential exists to generate significant value and material production.