Surface and Shallow Gas Expressions from the Southern Namibe Basin, Northern Namibia

Charlton August¹, Alastair Baumann¹, Tamlyn Gourrah², and Sumesh Naidoo^2
1Namcor, Windhoek, Namibia
²PetroSA, Parow, South Africa

In an undrilled and frontier basin such as the Namibe Basin, located onshore and offshore northern Namibia and southern Angola, the examination of possible gas induced surface and shallow gas features could be used to assess if the basin contains a working petroleum system.

Examples of these features include seismically imaged gas chimneys, surface gas induced pockmarks, gas hydrates, bottom simulating reflectors and zones of high seafloor reflectivity will be presented. Data such as 2D and 3D seismic, seabed piston coring and satellite detected seepages will be incorporated with the likely gas induced surface and shallow gas features. Taken individually these features may be regarded as of limited to no value to improve our understanding of the petroleum potential of the area. However, when taken collectively they present a convincing argument for the existence of an active petroleum system.
Results from the Kunene-1 well, to be drilled from February to April 2008, 80km offshore due west of the mouth of the Kunene River, will be available. The well results will be incorporated with the surface and shallow features overlying and surrounding the Kunene prospect to substantiate or discard the validity of the likely gas induced features.

AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Cape Town, South Africa 2008 © AAPG Search and Discovery