Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy in South Africa, His Excellency Gwede Mantashe, has announced and welcomed the arrival of the DeepSea Stavanger in Cape Town, in the Western Cape, South Africa.

He said the arrival of the drill rig is evidence that South Africa remains a top investment destination for the exploration of oil and gas in the African continent. According to him, the investment will aid South Africa in the diversification of its energy mix as projected in the country’s Integrated Resources plan.

The Government is also to support the project by the passage of the Upstream Petroleum Bill. The Bill will balance the need to attract foreign investors and to ensure that activities in the oil and gas sector do not harm the environment and water resources thereby causing harm to people or animals. The bill was published in December 2019 and the consultation period ended in February 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the review and adoption of the bill.

The drill rig is to drill the Luiperd prospect in Block 11B/12B offshore, located in the Outeniqua Basin in Mossel Bay. The well is located about 175 kilometres off the southern coast of South Africa. The block covers an area of 18,734 square kilometres with water depths ranging from 200 metres in the north to 1,800 metres in the south.

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French giant, Total, is the operator of the block which primarily consists of gas-condensate, with a 45% stake. African Energy has an interest in the block through its stake in Main street 1549 Proprietary Ltd who holds a 10% stake. Qatar’s state-owned QP has 25% interest while Candian Natural Resources has 20%.

The Stavanger left Norway early last month. The DeepSea Stavanger is on contract with Aker BP and Total until 2021 with an option to extend until the end of 2022.

Drilling will be resumed in the block by September after months of several delays due to the impact of the coronavirus globally.