This licensing and portfolio move brings Equinor into Namibia through a 17.4 percent interest in Petroleum Exploration License 90. The stake comes from operator Chevron and gives Equinor access to a drill ready prospect scheduled for testing in 2026.
PEL 90 covers Block 2813B in the Namibian Orange Basin. Chevron currently holds 52.5 percent through Harmattan Energy, QatarEnergy owns 27.5 percent, and Trago Energy and Namibia national oil company NAMCOR each own 10 percent. The transaction requires regulatory approval, and the companies did not disclose its value.
Interest in the Orange Basin accelerated after the Graff discovery by Shell and the Venus discovery by TotalEnergies in 2022. Namibian officials previously estimated that discoveries in the basin held at least 11 billion barrels of light oil in place and up to 8.7 trillion cubic feet of gas in place.
Equinor joins other major producers expanding their positions in Namibia. BP agreed earlier this year to acquire operating stakes of 60 percent in three Walvis Basin licenses, while Chevron continues to lead the PEL 90 campaign. The deal adds another experienced deepwater explorer to a basin moving from discovery toward a broader drilling cycle.