en.Wedoany.com Reported - Canadian oil company ReconAfrica has achieved natural gas production from the Kavango West 1X discovery well in northeastern Namibia, marking the country's first onshore oil and gas production and a technical milestone in validating the commercial viability of the Kavango Basin.

Testing operations commenced on June 8, as part of the first of six planned intervals, targeting the uppermost section of the Elandshoek Formation. Three independent flow tests were conducted over a 24-hour production period, yielding natural gas and liquids with tubing pressure reaching 2,300 psi. Due to equipment limitations, flow rates could not be precisely measured, but pressure buildup data during the tests confirmed hydrocarbon productivity. Samples collected on-site have been sent to a laboratory in the United States for compositional analysis, with results expected to be released within the coming weeks.

ReconAfrica holds a 13 million contiguous acre interest in Namibia, Angola, and Botswana, with partners including BW Energy and Namibia's national oil company NAMCOR. The company is currently moving testing equipment uphole to evaluate three intervals in the shallower Huttenberg Formation. Log data indicates that this formation contains 76 meters of net hydrocarbon pay within a 182-meter reservoir interval, with results expected by the end of August.

The company is also evaluating options for horizontal or directional sidetracks from the existing wellbore to intersect the natural fracture network of the Elandshoek Formation. This approach, similar to shale completion techniques in North America, typically helps increase production from the same reservoir. In January 2026, ReconAfrica raised $27 million to fund this testing operation and a second appraisal well planned to spud before the end of the third quarter of 2026.