88 Energy Ltd., an Australian independent oil and gas company, has entered a promising onshore exploration block in Namibia, joining the growing number of explorers seeking to tap the southern African country’s vast hydrocarbon potential.

The company said it has completed the transfer of a working interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 93, from Monitor Exploration Ltd., following the approval of the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

88 Energy now holds a 45% stake in the licence, which covers 18,500 square kilometers of the under explored Owambo Basin in northern Namibia. PEL 93 is a promising exploration block, previously presented at AOW’s Prospects Forum.

The farm-in deal enables 88 Energy to fast-track its drilling plans, with the first exploration well expected to spud as early as the second half of 2025, the company said in a statement. The area is located west of ReconAfrica’s onshore exploration in the Kavango Basin, where a multi-well drilling campaign will be executed this year with an expected spud date in June 2024.

88 Energy, with this deal, joins the exploration frenzy in Namibia, which has attracted major oil companies such as Shell, TotalEnergies and Galp Energies in recent years.

88 Energy’s partners in PEL 93 are Monitor, which retains a 30% interest, and Namcor, the state-owned oil company, which holds a 25% carried interest. The licence has a remaining exploration period of four years, with a commitment to drill one exploration well.

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