Equinor enters Namibia with Orange Basin farm-in

Equinor signed an agreement with Chevron to acquire a 17.4% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration License 90 in Namibia’s Orange Basin, marking the company’s first entry into the country. The deal was struck with Harmattan Energy, Chevron’s Namibian subsidiary, which held a 52.5% interest in the license before the transaction.

PEL 90 covers Block 2813B and is operated by Chevron in water depths ranging from 2,300 m to 3,300 m. The license includes a drill-ready prospect with testing planned for 2026. Chevron secured an 80% operated working interest in the block in October 2022 and drilled the Kapana-1X well in January 2025, which did not encounter commercially viable hydrocarbons. Other partners in PEL 90 are QatarEnergy with 27.5%, Trago Energy with 10% and Namibia’s state-owned NAMCOR with 10%.

The block sits in the Orange Basin, roughly 60 km from TotalEnergies’ Venus-1 discovery and Shell’s Graff discovery, both of which have drawn sustained industry interest in the play. Closing of the Equinor transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.