Harare — The newly appointed CEO of Canada's Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) Brian Reinsborough, rejected environmental groups' criticism of the project on Thursday, October 12, 2023 announcing that the company will launch a new drilling campaign early in 2024 close to Namibia's protected Okavango Delta, Reuters reports.

Although communities and environmentalists in Namibia have harshly criticised ReconAfrica, the government supports the company's plans to drill up to 12 wells on a sizeable portion of its land.

The Okavango Delta, which is shared by Namibia and Botswana, is one of the few significant river delta regions that empties into the Kalahari desert's sands rather than a sea. The Okavango River's yearly flooding provides it with nourishment, which makes the wetland a crucial pathway for elephants and other species to disperse.

A first set of wells demonstrated the presence of an active petroleum system with an estimated 2 billion barrels of oil and 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. The company will launch a fresh 4-6 well drilling campaign early in the next year, Reinsborough said.

Nonetheless, local communities and environmentalists have continued to protest against ReconAfrica's operations, and in August 2023 they filed a complaint with a number of regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.