In the memorandum, the joint venture partners are expected to drill up to 20 additional wells in the Jubilee field over the extended licences’ life. Beyond crude output, the deal aims to nearly double volumes of gas supplied from the two offshore fields to about 130 million standard cubic feet per day.
South Africa’s offshore acreage, particularly in the Orange Basin, has been gaining momentum on the back of transformational discoveries in neighboring Namibia. Within South African waters, the Brulpadda and Luiperd finds in Block 11B/12B remain the most commercially significant to date, estimated to hold more than 600 million barrels of oil equivalent. While TotalEnergies has since exited the block, citing internal portfolio shifts, the company’s re-engagement with the broader South African market suggests continued belief in the basin’s long-term potential.
Brazil will offer 172 oil blocks that span areas on land to deep-water regions in northeastern and southern Brazil under concession contracts. A total of 47 are at the Foz do Amazonas, where Petrobras is appealing to drill its first well after having its exploration campaign blocked in 2023. Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry says that basin could contain oil fields similar to those discovered in Suriname and Guyana, where Exxon Mobil Corp. found billions of barrels.
Trump handed shale donors their first big return on investment by nominating Liberty Energy Chief Executive Chris Wright, a fracking booster and fossil-fuels champion, to lead the president-elect’s Energy Department.