Shell is preparing to launch a new drilling campaign in the PEL 39 exploration block offshore Namibia from April 2026 with its partners QatarEnergy and Namibia’s national oil company Namcor.
Shell’s Namibia country chair Eduardo Rodriguez said in a post on social media on Thursday that the London-listed energy group had awarded the contract for the Deepsea Mira drilling unit, operated by Odfjell Drilling and owned by Northern Ocean.
The company is circling back to the petroleum exploration license (PEL) 39 block offshore Namibia after writing down around $400 million in January over an oil discovery it deemed commercially unviable.
The Orange Basin, where the block is located and which extends into South African waters, has been a global exploration hotspot for energy firms after discoveries by Shell, TotalEnergies and Galp.
Namibia is yet to produce any oil but is aiming for its first output by 2030.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Additional reporting by Anathi Madubela; Editing by Alexander Winning)
