UK's Nodding Donkey Issued Licences in Botswana With Shale Gas Potential
UK’s Nodding Donkey on Tuesday announced that its subsidiary companies have been issued with three petroleum exploration licences in Botswana, all prospective for hosting shale gas.
“We are excited at the potential of the licences to host shale gas, which can play a vital role as an energy source for electricity in Botswana and the wider African region. We look forward to commencing work on the licences shortly,” Noel Lyons, CEO, Nodding Donkey said.
Company’s 86.95 percent subsidiary, Equatorial, has been issued with petroleum exploration licence 171/2015, which is located in the Kgalagadi district, and covers 29,291 square kilometres. The licence, which is valid for four years, is contiguous to the south of petroleum licence EL001/2012, which is controlled by Equatorial’s 85 percent owned subsidiary, Tamboran. Together, the two licences cover the entirety of the Gemsbok Basin in South-West Botswana.
Equatorial’s 85 percent owned subsidiary, Tamboran, has been issued with petroleum exploration licence 162/2015, which is located in the Ghanzi/Kgalagadi/Kweneng districts, and covers 34,435 square kilometres. The licence, which is valid for four years, is contiguous to the east of Tamboran’s licence EL001/2012, and is located within the Western Central Kalahari sub-basin.
Tamboran has also been issued with petroleum exploration licence 161/2015, which is located in the Central district, and covers 23,980 square kilometres. The licence, which is valid for four years, lies within the Northern Belt of the Central Kalahari sub-basin, and is of particular geologic significance as it covers almost the entirety of the Mmashoro sub-basin, which is a structural low that has the requisite conditions for natural gas to be hosted within shales.
In Botswana, the Group now controls four petroleum exploration licences over a combined area of 141,260 square kilometres, and two licences for coal bed methane exploration over an area of 1,574 square kilometres.