Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Member of Parliament, Kenny Kapinga was last week rubbing his hands gleefully in anticipation of huge national windfall while government dithered over the mining of what promises to be one of the biggest global oil finds in recent years.
Welcoming the undertaking of mining activities in his area, the Okavango MP advised extreme caution during the process to avoid tempering with the ecosystem.
“We eagerly want economic developments in our area. Hopefully with such projects in the area, villages such as Gani and Chukumuchu will be electrified. We are also as people of Okavango hopeful for better roads and employment opportunities that will come with this project,” he said.
While Botswana has been seemingly hesitant over the oil strike, Namibia has already started drilling exploratory wells for what could be a major oil and gas find.
Recon Africa, an oil and gas company headquartered in Canada is currently drilling three test wells in the sedimentary Kavango Basin of Namibia. The company has a license for an area of 9,800 square miles, plus an adjacent area in Botswana — 13,250 square miles in total.
The oilfield that ReconAfrica wants to harness is immense, potentially containing 120 billion barrels of oil and could be worth billions of dollars. Some experts believe the oil reserves could be even bigger.
“We know we have discovered a new sedimentary basin. It’s up to 35,000 feet deep and it’s a large and very expansive basin,” says Craig Steinke, the co-founder of ReconAfrica.
Geochemist and Recon Africa shareholder Daniel Jarvie estimated the basin has the potential to produce as much as 120 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which would make it one of the biggest global oil finds in recent years.
Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Lefoko Moagi told a consultative meeting in Shakawe recently that geological data gathered by Reconnaissance Energy Botswana (Recon Botswana) indicate there could be oil in the Okavango area. Moagi said the existence of oil could only be confirmed through introduction of physical activities. At a meeting attended by Kapinga and traditional leaders of Okavango villages, Moagi said Recon Botswana was at preliminary stages of exploration focusing on acquiring and processing information, analysis and interpretation of geological data.
Recon Botswana was issued a four-year license under the Petroleum Act last June to undertake oil exploration in the North West District.
In addition, he said commissioning of an Environmental Impact Assessment and getting the necessary approvals was a pre-requisite to carrying out any drilling activities.
The minister assured Okavango residents that the license area did not cover the Okavango Delta and Tsodilo Hills heritage sites core and buffer zones.
Recon Botswana is a subsidiary of Recon Africa. The company director of communications and stakeholder relations Mwanyengwa Shapwanale said apart from interpretation of geological data, nothing physical had been done.
She explained that exploration was a long process involving various stages until the final product was delivered. The project has however touched off international controversy following fears that the network of rigs, pipelines, and roads would sprawl across an environmentally sensitive, semi-arid region that is home to Africa’s largest remaining population of savanna elephants as well as numerous threatened or endangered wildlife species. There are also concerns that the drilling — which may involve hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — may encompass or border national parks, wildlife conservancies, and could threaten waterways that flow into the renowned Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
