Namibia is reigniting hope around oil exploration
Fresh oil find stokes Namibian interest
The southern African nation continues to deliver exploration success
Namibia is starting to deliver on its immense promise and reigniting hope around oil exploration. The latest find has been made by joint venture partners Shell, state-owned QatarEnergy and Namibian NOC Namcor, which have discovered light oil at their Jonker-1X exploration well. Jonker is located in deep water, around 270km off the coast in blocks 2913A and 2914B of the Orange basin’s PEL39 licence area. Drilling started in December and ended in early March. PEL39 is the same block in which the Shell-led JV also made the Graff discovery, which helped spark the current wave of interest in Namibian prospects. “The encouraging results from the well are a geological testimony of the significant
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
