French oil and gas giant, Total, has announced a significant gas condensate discovery on the Luiperd prospect, located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, offshore South Africa.

The Basin is located 175 kilometres off the southern coast of South Africa. The discovery follows the adjacent play opening Brulpadda discovery in 2019 that proved a significant new petroleum province in the region.

The Luiperd well was drilled to a total depth of about 3,400 meters and encountered 73 meters of net gas condensate pay in well-developed good quality Lower Cretaceous reservoirs. The Block covers an area of 19,000 square kilometres with water depth ranging from 200 to 1,800 meters.

After a comprehensive coring and logging program, the well will be tested to assess the dynamic reservoir characteristics and deliverability.

The President Exploration & Production at Total, Arnaud Breuillac said, “We are very pleased with this second discovery and its very encouraging results, which prove the world-class nature of this offshore gas play; With this discovery and the successful seismic acquisitions, Total and its partners have acquired important data on the Paddavissie fairway, which will help to progress development studies and engage with South African authorities regarding the possible conditions of the gas commercialization.”

Total is the operator of the block with a 45% working interest. Other partners are Qatar Petroleum with 25%, CNR International with 20% and a South African consortium, Main Street, with 10%.