The DeepSea Stavanger is part of the $400m oil and gas exploration drilling campaign by Total, of which R1.5bn will be spent in South Africa through the hospitality industry; off-shore services and equipment; training and contracting of local companies to support the drilling programme.
“The arrival of the drill rig, following the recent successful Brulpadda discovery, reaffirms confidence in South Africa as an investment destination of choice for the exploration of oil and gas. This is despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on economies around the world,” said Gwede Mantashe, minister of mineral resources and energy.
The investment will further enable South Africa to diversify its energy mix, as envisioned in the Integrated Resources Plan, by using all the primary energy resources that the country is endowed with, including gas.
“Government will be supporting this project by finalising the Upstream Petroleum Bill which aims to strike a balance between the need to attract investment into this key sector of the economy, and ensuring that oil and gas activities do not happen at the expense of the environment and water resources,” Mantashe said.
The duration of the drilling campaign is expected to be between six and 12 month.
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