On 11 June 2020, Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) announced it has been granted the PEL 001/2020 petroleum licence in northwestern Botswana, Okavango Basin, for 9,921 sq km. Following this announcement, the company also stated that it has entered into a farm-out option agreement on these lands. This new licence is contiguous to the company's 25,362-sq-km petroleum acreage (PEL 73) in northeast Namibia.    Terms of the new licence are as follows:      100% working interest in all      petroleum rights from surface to basement,    An initial 4-year exploration      period, with renewals up to an additional 10 years, in accordance with the      Botswana Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act,    Upon declaration of commercial      production, the operator holds the right to enter into a 25-year      production licence with a 20-year renewal period, in accordance with the      Botswana Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act,    Royalties associated with the      production licence will be subject to negotiation, in accordance with the      Botswana Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, and generally range      from 3 to 10% of gross revenue from production,    The company has committed to a      minimum work program of USD 432,000 over the first 4-year exploration      period,    The corporate tax rate in      Botswana is 22%.     ReconAfrica also announced that it has already entered into a farm-out option agreement on these lands with an unquoted private company, speculated to be fellow Canadian company Renaissance Oil Corp. The option agreement carries a three-year term, granting the farminee rights to acquire a 50% interest in the licence for an initial payment of CAD 100,000 (USD 74,000), with a further CAD 1 â 1.5 million (USD 740,000 â 1.1 million) due upon final entry, pending approval from the Botswana authorities.  In northeast Namibia, ReconAfrica operates the PEL 73 licence with a 90% interest, Namcore holds the remainder.
Botswana, (Okavango B.), ReconAfrica's award of sole rights to 9,921 sq km of Okavango (Kavango) Basin acreage last month at the start of the panhandle in NW Botswana is now named as PEL 001/2020. The contract runs 4+10 years, plus 25+20 years production if warranted.