Namibia: Africa's oil hotspot

Significant discoveries made
American oil major Chevron is set to begin exploration in Namibia later this year, having signed a development deal in April.
STAFF REPORTER
  • 3 Months Ago
Recent discoveries along Namibia’s coast have transformed the country into a major hotspot for oil exploration, according to the African Energy Council. Despite not having produced any oil or gas yet, oil giants such as TotalEnergies and Shell have made significant discoveries, estimated at 2.6 billion barrels of oil. These discoveries have been made in the Orange Basin, with other prospective areas including the Lüderitz, Kavango and Walvis basins.

American oil major Chevron is set to begin exploration later this year, having signed a development deal in April for an 80% operating working interest in an offshore block in the Walvis Basin. Chevron Namibia Exploration Ltd is also the operator of petroleum exploration licence (PEL) 90, an offshore deepwater block in the Orange Basin.

Meanwhile, Azule Energy - a joint venture between Italy’s Eni and BP for their Angolan assets - and exploration firm Rhino Resources Namibia have agreed to a farm-in agreement for a 42.5% interest in an offshore Orange Basin licence.

In 2024, Portuguese energy group Galp carried out tests at its Mopane-1X and Mopane-2X wells, estimating that the Mopane field could hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil. Galp has launched the sale of half of its Mopane stake.

Shell and its partners made an “encouraging” discovery in an exploration well off the coast of Namibia in February 2022. Shell is exploring offshore oil and gas in PEL 39 and in the Orange Basin with joint-venture partners QatarEnergy and Namcor.

TotalEnergies agreed to acquire additional interests in Block 2913B and Block 2912 in January. The company plans to spend about 30% of its US$1 billion exploration and appraisal budget in Namibia in 2024. TotalEnergies aims to approve its first oil development in Namibia by the end of 2025, focusing on the Venus 1-X well in Block 2913B within the Orange Basin. This while Namibia plans to commence oil production from Venus, estimated to hold around 5.1 billion barrels of oil, between 2029 and 2030.