PEL 90 – About the Permit
The Group holds an indirect interest in PEL 90 (Block 2813B) offshore southern Namibia, in the northern Orange Basin, in water depths between 2,300m and 3,300m.
In October 2022, Chevron NEL acquired an 80% operated working interest in PEL 90 in exchange for a full carry on initial exploration activities including a 6,600 km2 3D seismic programme and an initial exploration well.
In January 2024, Chevron NEL drilled the Kapana-1X exploration on PEL 90. The well did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons, but operations did return valuable information on important aspects of the basin and increased confidence in future operations on PEL 90. The Group was fully carried in all costs associated with that well. In December 2024 QatarEnergy entered into PEL 90 through the acquisition of a 27.5% participating interest.
Chevron NEL is currently considering future activities in relation to PEL 90, which could commence in 2026, and has filed environmental applications which would enable the drilling of up to 5 exploration wells and 5 appraisal wells. The Group would not be carried in any additional activity that may occur on PEL 90.
It is worth noting that in early 2022, TotalEnergies EP Namibia B.V. (“TotalEnergies“) announced a light oil discovery at Venus-1, with the well encountering 84 metres of net oil pay in good quality Lower Cretaceous reservoir. The Venus appraisal programme was followed by the drilling of the Mangetti-1X well in early 2024 which is located less than 30 km from the southern boundary of PEL 90.
Highlights
- Seismic coverage includes 1,100 km of 2D seismic (2012) and 1,300 km of 2D seismic (2018) licensed from Spectrum.
- Chevron entered into a farm-in and assumed operatorship on October 4th, 2022.
- Trago will maintain a 10% interest in the block which is carried by Chevron through an initial 3D seismic shoot and one exploration well.
- Chevron completed a 5,400 km2 3D seismic shoot with fast track processing and interpretation completed.
- TotalEnergies completed the Venus-1A and Venus-2A appraisal wells and drill confirmed the Venus extension at the Mangetti-1X prospect.
- Chevron completed drilling of the Kapana 1-X exploration in early 2025, although the well did not find commercial hydrocarbons, it provided valuable data and confidence for future exploration drilling.
| Partners | Participation Interest |
|---|---|
| Chevron Namibia (Operator) | 80% |
| Inter Oil (Pty) Ltd.* | 10% |
| NAMCOR | 10% |
* Effective Interest – On March 9th 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of 49% of Inter Oil (Pty) Ltd (Trago). Inter Oil subsequently completed a farm-out with Chevron resulting in an effective interest to Sintana Energy in PEL 90 of 5% carried interest through the initial exploration phase.
PEL 90 Snapshot
| Location | Upper Orange Basin |
| Area | 5,433 km2 |
| Water Depth | 2300m – 3100m |
| Grant Date | 20-Jun-18 |
| Licence Term | 4 years + 2 renewal terms of 2 years |
| 2D Seismic | 1260 km |
| 3D Seismic | 5400 km2 |
| Nearby Wells | Mopane-3X, Tambotti-1X (2025 |
| Mopane-1X, Mopane-2X (2024) | |
| Mopane-1A, Mopane-2A (2024) | |
| Mangetti-1X, Venus-2A (2024) | |
| Venus-1A, Nara-1X (2023) | |
| Venus-1X (2022) |
