QatarEnergy Reports New Oil Discovery in Namibia’s Orange Basin

QatarEnergy has announced a new offshore oil discovery in Namibia after the Merlin-1X exploration well encountered light oil and high-quality reservoir characteristics in Petroleum Exploration Licence 39 (PEL 0039).

The discovery is regarded as one of the most encouraging exploration results in the licence area to date, with Merlin-1X becoming the tenth well drilled under the permit and delivering what the company described as its strongest subsurface findings so far.

According to QatarEnergy, the well identified good reservoir quality, light crude oil and limited associated gas, providing additional evidence of the significant hydrocarbon potential within Namibia’s Orange Basin, an area that has attracted increasing global attention following a series of major discoveries in recent years.

Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said the latest result further strengthens confidence in the basin as an emerging world-class petroleum province and supports the company’s strategy of expanding its international upstream portfolio through high-impact exploration opportunities.

He also acknowledged the support of the Namibian government and congratulated exploration partners Shell and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia for their collaboration on the project.

The discovery adds momentum to Namibia’s growing reputation as one of the world’s most promising frontier oil regions, with international energy companies continuing to increase exploration activity across the country’s offshore acreage.

QatarEnergy currently holds interests in four offshore exploration licences in Namibia, including a 45 percent stake in PEL 0039 alongside additional holdings in PEL 0056, PEL 0091 and PEL 0090. Together, the licences cover approximately 34,000 square kilometres of offshore territory.

The Merlin-1X results are expected to inform further appraisal and exploration work as operators continue evaluating the commercial potential of the Orange Basin, which has become a focal point for new upstream investment and future production prospects in southern Africa.