Shell has just started carrying out flow tests on a key appraisal well drilled on its large Jonker oil discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin.

The Jonker-2A well is being drilled an impressive 23 kilometres from the discovery well and was spudded in late November by semi-submersible rig Deepsea Bollsta.

Last month, Namibia’s Petroleum Commissioner Maggy Shino said that Jonker holds 300 million barrels of recoverable oil resources, a figure at the bottom end of an assessment from mid-2023 which suggested a range of between 300 million and 400 million barrels.