Calgary-based Reconnaissance Energy Africa has begun drilling the Kavango West 1X exploration well in the Damara Fold Belt onshore Namibia, the company announced on Thursday.
Originally scheduled for later drilling, Kavango West 1X was reprioritised following the January 2025 result of the Naingopo exploration well, ReconAfrica’s first in the Damara Fold Belt. Drilled to a depth of 4,184 metres, Naingopo encountered 52 metres of net reservoir and multiple indications of oil in place.
ReconAfrica plans to drill the Kavango West 1X prospect to a depth of approximately 3,800 metres by November 2025, seeking penetration of more than 1,500 metres into the Otavi carbonate reservoir.
Extending below an area 22 kilometres long and three kilometres wide, Otavi is estimated to hold 12.8 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and is the primary target of the Damara Fold Belt play. To date, ReconAfrica has identified more than 19 prospects and mapped four leads in the area.
Following the Naingopo and Kavango West 1X results, ReconAfrica has turned its focus to drilling activities and rescheduled a 3D seismic survey originally scheduled for H2 2025 to its 2026 operating programme.
ReconAfrica also carries out exploration in Namibia’s Kalahari Desert, as well as in Botswana and Angola, where, in April 2025, the company signed a joint exploration MoU with Angola’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency covering more than 210,400 square kilometres in the Etosha-Okavango Basin.
Source: By theenergyyear.com