Namibia faces setback as Shell downgrades oil discoveries

Namibia's Southwest African Coastal basin is located offshore Namibia, extending south into northwestern South Africa. It shares geological similarities with Brazil's deepwater Cretaceous basins but lacks a pre-salt play, with only northern blocks near Angola having a salt layer. In February 2022, exploration yielded two significant Cretaceous light oil discoveries: Shell's Graff and TotalEnergies' Venus in 2023. Graff marked Namibia's first oil discovery, while Venus could be Sub-Saharan Africa's largest find. Galp Energia also made progress with the Mopane-1X exploration well in block 2813A, discovering significant columns of light oil within high-quality Cretaceous sands. These wells are among the most anticipated globally, with both majors poised to develop commercial discoveries, likely driving further exploration and drilling in the basin. The results underscore the basin's potential, enhancing Namibia's position in the global energy landscape.