88 Energy is seeking approval for a two-year renewal of its Namibian exploration licence, with plans to drill at least one well at a prospect it now regards as ready for testing.
The Australian-listed explorer holds a fully earned, non-operated 20 per cent interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 93, a vast 18,500-square-kilometre block in the onshore Owambo Basin. Operator Monitor Exploration submitted the renewal application to Namibia’s Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy on 29 June.
If approved, the second renewal period would begin on 3 October 2026 and include a minimum gross exploration spend of US$10 million. 88 Energy expects its share of the programme to be about US$2.67 million, including its pro-rata obligations to partners NAMCOR and Legend Oil Namibia.
The joint venture’s leading target is Prospect 9, a large anticline identified through seismic and geological work. The structure has potential closure of up to 158 square kilometres and 300 metres of vertical relief, with possible reservoirs in the Otavi carbonate sequence and deeper Kombat sandstone.
Monitor holds a 55 per cent interest in PEL 93, while Legend Oil Namibia owns 15 per cent and Namibia’s state petroleum company, NAMCOR, holds 10 per cent. The proposed renewal remains subject to approval by the joint venture and Namibian authorities.
Namibia exploration target moves towards drilling
Technical work has combined 203 kilometres of modern two-dimensional seismic with almost 6,000 line-kilometres of airborne gravity, magnetic and radiometric data. 88 Energy said the integrated interpretation had improved the understanding of the licence and elevated Prospect 9 to the highest-ranked drilling opportunity.
The case for drilling has also been supported by activity at ReconAfrica’s Kavango West 1X well, about 100 kilometres to the east. ReconAfrica reported natural gas reaching the surface during three flow tests in the Elandshoek Formation in July, followed by hydrocarbons flowing from the Huttenberg Formation in August.
Both formations form part of the wider Otavi carbonate section, which is also the joint venture’s principal reservoir target. ReconAfrica has said it intends to conduct an open-hole horizontal production test across up to 1,000 metres of the Huttenberg interval.
Those results are regional evidence rather than a direct test of PEL 93, but 88 Energy believes they indicate that hydrocarbons have been generated, migrated and are capable of flowing within the wider Damara Fold Belt geological system.
Before any well is drilled, the partners must settle the location and objectives, complete environmental approvals and baseline studies, progress engineering and costing, assess the availability of rigs and services, and secure the necessary permits.
The work programme could also include further seismic evaluation of several other structures of a similar scale to Prospect 9. The joint venture has identified 13 prospects and leads and says it intends to retain them while relinquishing 50 per cent of the existing licence area, twice the statutory minimum.
88 Energy said the reduction would concentrate spending on the strongest parts of the acreage, provide modest cost savings and remove further relinquishment obligations. The company has described PEL 93 as a capital-efficient frontier opportunity alongside its infrastructure-linked portfolio on Alaska’s North Slope.
