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Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd., operating as ReconAfrica, is a Canadian oil & gas exploration company that operates in the Kavango in
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
and
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
. Headquartered in Calgary, it was co-founded by Craig Steinke and Jay Park in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. Its CEO is Scot Evans. ReconAfrica is publicly traded on the
TSX Venture Exchange The TSX Venture Exchange is a stock exchange in Canada. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia, with offices in Toronto and Montreal. All trading through the Exchange is done electronically, so the Exchange does n ...
and the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (, former German name: , ''FWB'') is the world's 3rd oldest and 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time). Organisation Located in Frankfurt, ...
.


Operations and history

Co-founder Craig Steinke reportedly accessed a global dataset of potential undeveloped oil-and-gas sites and, knowing that an old well had been drilled nearby in 1964, Steinke leased the lands in early 2014. ReconAfrica is licensed to explore a 13,200-square-mile region in the Kavango Basin in Namibia and Botswana, which is home to more than 200,000 people and vital elephant migratory routes. The region, in northwestern Botswana and northeastern Namibia, is adjacent to two national parks and two
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
s. UNESCO has expressed concern about the proximity of ReconAfrica's exploration sites to its heritage sites. Given ReconAfrica's site's proximity to the
Omuramba Omuramba (plural: ''Omiramba'') is the term for ancient river-beds found in the Kalahari Desert of Africa, notably in the North Eastern part of Namibia and North Western part of Botswana. The word is taken from the Herero language. An omuramba pr ...
-Omatako river, concerns have also been raised about the possible impacts of oil-and-gas exploration and production on the water quality in the relatively water-scarce area. ReconAfrica's contract with the Namibian government and its state-owned oil company, NAMCOR, prescribes that it will drill three wells to determine whether there are significant
oil reserves An oil is any chemical polarity, nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobe, hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilicity, lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable ...
in the region. ReconAfrica holds a 90% stake in that exploration license, with NAMCOR holding the remaining 10%. ReconAfrica is subjected to a 5% royalty fee and a 35% corporate tax by the Namibian government. ReconAfrica drilled its first well in January 2021 and its second on May 5, 2021. In 2021, ReconAfrica moved its offices from Vancouver to Calgary. In May 2021, ReconAfrica claimed that it could generate some 100 billion barrels of oil and gas from its site in Namibia and Botswana—which is roughly equivalent to the proven oil reserves of
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
or the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. In 2021, U.S. Senator
Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy ( ; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also was the pr ...
(D-VT) and Congressman
Jeff Fortenberry Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry (born December 27, 1960) is an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. In Octo ...
(R-NE) called for a scrutiny of ReconAfrica's activities in Namibia by the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission. On August 5, 2021, ReconAfrica and partner NAMCOR released a report claiming 350 metres of hydrocarbon showings from the second test well, in addition to the 250 metres found from the first well. On October 14, 2021,
Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...
and Reinhold Mangundu co-wrote an opinion article in the
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
that condemned ReconAfrica's exploratory activities. In 2022, ReconAfrica provided N$1.2 million (68,000 USD) worth of scholarships to ten Namibian students from the
Kavango East Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing sett ...
and
Kavango West Kavango West is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital and only self-governed settlement is Nkurenkuru, its governor is Sirkka Ausiku. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango We ...
regions.


Stock promotions

On January 14, 2020, the value of shares in ReconAfrica increased by 40%. ReconAfrica denied knowing of a reason for this surge in trading, but later revealed—at the request of the
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
—that it had paid CA$120,000 to a German media company for a stock promotion campaign. One of the articles that was funded by ReconAfrica compared their stock to a winning lottery ticket. On June 4, 2021, a complaint was filed with the
British Columbia Securities Commission The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) is a regulatory agency which administers and enforces securities legislation in the Canadian province of British Columbia. See also * Canadian securities regulation * Securities Commission * Ca ...
, alleging that ReconAfrica had not adequately disclosed that it changed its business model after the Namibian government prevented it from engaging in
fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...
. On October 25, 2021, a class-action lawsuit was filed against several ReconAfrica executives in the United States on behalf of individuals or entities who bought shares in ReconAfrica between February 28, 2019 and September 7, 2021. The lawsuit alleged that ReconAfrica engaged in " stock pumping". According to Viceroy Research; Haywood Securities’ 2020 report ‘Chasing a giant oil resource in onshore Namibia‘ does not disclose that Sproule gave the exploration less than a 4 percent chance of success. but talks about massive potential and quotes 'source rock specialist’ Dan Jarvie as estimating 100 plus billion barrels of oil with no evidence to support such an estimate and without disclosing that Jarvie is a shareholder and insider of ReconAfrica. Haywood assigned the prospect of success at 27 percent without any justification. A May 2021 article by ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' article revealed that the company was estimating future revenues based on fracking, which it has no licence for. While telling the Namibian public that fracking was not their intention, the company based their estimates on the Sproule Report which said the target was "Unconventionals"


Controversies

Jay Park, ReconAfrica's chair, has been described as having been instrumental in establishing a close relationship with the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy, although in a 2015 report, a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
monitoring group alleged that he had a conflict of interest as he was then a legal advisor as Somalia's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. The report also tied Park to a 2011 incident wherein his lawyers helped transfer a US$2-million payment from Griffiths Energy International Inc. to a company owned by the wife of the ambassador to
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, which led to a bribery investigation by Canada's national police force. In 2021, a Namibian organization, Frack-Free Namibia, accused the company's 2D seismic surveying—which entails repeatedly thumping the ground with accelerated weights—has caused "permanent structural damage" to nearby homes. Frack-Free Namibia claims that ReconAfrica operated within 30 metres of homes—allegedly disregarding the 0.5–1 km buffer zone that is prescribed in their environmental impact assessment. ReconAfrica has obtained the services of Knowledge Katti, a controversial Namibian businessman who is described as having a close relationship with high-ranking government officials, including the president. ReconAfrica has reported that Katti is no longer affiliated with the company. An April 2021 lawsuit was filed on behalf of a local farmer in Namibia's High Court, alleging that ReconAfrica had cleared land for drilling without properly consulting or compensating local residents. The company’s EIA assessor conducted ‘consultations’ in English only, which was filled with technical jargon. The negative effects of the project were never shared with those in the licence area and the potential negative consequences have never been shared with communities. The consultant insulted opponents calling them stupid and racist and advised them to buy shares. He then threatened them with legal action for disclosing the personal attacks. The company’s EIA has been criticised by international organizations such as the IUCN and UNESCO who cautioned against allowing ReconAfrica to proceed on the basis of this incomplete and flawed document. Experts have pointed to shortcomings such as: A lack of physical assessments of fauna and flora and the possible effects on local communities, on archaeological sites, and on groundwater and surface water. The assessment, consisting only of desktop studies without any fieldwork. The assessment left out key assessments and specialist studies. The EIA has not identified alternatives to oil and gas extraction. Water needs for the first wells are missing. In February 2022, ReconAfrica was accused of cutting through a virgin forest within environmental conservancy boundaries. Kapinga Kamwalye Community Conservancy chairperson alleged that on 18 June, at a Farmers Union meeting, ReconAfrica's spokesperson showed him that she had access to his private WhatsApp messages, he told The Namibian. The chairperson said he reported the incident at the Rundu Police Station on 28 June. Then Chairperson of the Kavango East and West community Association and a pair of human rights activists were detained for six hours at the Rundu Police Station, allegedly at the request of ReconAfrica. The police accused Muyemburuko and the activists of misinforming the public and polarising communities through their activism against the Canadian company. The police searched Muyemburoko’s phone without a warrant and detained him until seven in the evening without charge. The Police went through his private messages On Tuesday February 21, 2023 Conservancies and Civil Society Organisations in Namibia held a protest against communities being forced to pay legal costs for challenging ReconAfrica's ECC. {{cite web , url=https://www.rewild.org/press/namibian-court-poised-to-punish-local-communities-for-opposing-devastating , title=Namibian court poised to punish local communities for opposing devastating oil and gas drilling in the Okavango River Basin


References

2014 establishments in Alberta