QatarEnergy’s latest oil find offshore Namibia has added fresh weight to the Orange Basin’s growing status as one of the world’s most closely watched frontier oil provinces.
The company announced that the Merlin-1X exploration well in Petroleum Exploration License 39 (PEL 0039), delivered encouraging results.
Merlin-1X is the tenth well drilled under the license. QatarEnergy said it delivered the most promising subsurface results to date, with good reservoir quality, light oil, and limited associated gas.
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The result follows three earlier discovery announcements in Namibia. It also comes as major oil companies continue to test the Orange Basin’s commercial potential.
“These results represent a significant step that further strengthens confidence in the Orange Basin as an emerging world-class hydrocarbon province and aligns with QatarEnergy’s strategy to expand its international upstream portfolio through high-impact exploration,” said Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and Chief Executive Officer of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
QatarEnergy is working with Shell and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia on the license.
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“We extend our appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Namibia for its continued support of this exploration effort, and we congratulate our partners, Shell and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia on this achievement,” Al-Kaabi said.
QatarEnergy holds a 45% interest in PEL 0039. The company also holds stakes in three other offshore exploration licenses in Namibia: 35.25% in PEL 0056, 33.03% in PEL 0091, and 27.5% in PEL 0090.
The four licenses together cover about 34,000 square kilometers offshore Namibia, giving QatarEnergy a broad exploration position in the country as Namibia works to advance its offshore oil industry.
