Chevron has appointed Emmanuelle Garinet as Director of Exploration for the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa, placing the veteran geophysicist in charge of the company’s upstream discovery strategy across two of the world’s key hydrocarbon regions.
Garinet is expected to join Chevron in mid-May following a three-decade career at TotalEnergies, where she most recently served as Vice President for Exploration in Africa.
In her new role, Garinet will oversee Chevron’s exploration portfolio across the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa, with responsibility for identifying new oil and gas resources, advancing commercial discoveries and strengthening the company’s upstream resource base.
Her mandate includes expanding Chevron’s exploration footprint in both established producing basins and frontier regions while working with host governments and industry partners.
Garinet’s career spans the transformation of the former French oil company Elf Aquitaine into TotalFinaElf and later TotalEnergies, now one of the world’s largest integrated energy groups.
During her tenure at TotalEnergies, she played a key role in overseeing exploration activities across Africa, one of the most geologically diverse and strategically important regions for global oil and gas exploration.
Sub-Saharan Africa has remained a focal point for international energy companies, particularly following major offshore discoveries in recent years in countries such as Namibia and Guyana, which have renewed industry interest in frontier basins.
Chevron’s appointment of Garinet comes as the company continues to expand its exploration portfolio in Africa, including offshore Namibia.
In August last year, Chevron appointed Beatrice Bienvenu as Country Manager for Namibia and West Africa, tasking her with overseeing the company’s exploration activities in the region.
Chevron Namibia Exploration II Limited (CNEL), a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, acquired an 80% participating interest and operatorship in Petroleum Exploration Licence 82 (PEL 82) offshore Namibia from Custos Energy in February last year.
PEL 82 covers blocks 2112B and 2212A in the Walvis Basin, offshore Namibia, an area that has become a focus for international oil companies following significant discoveries in the neighbouring Orange Basin.
The Walvis Basin, located north of the Orange Basin, has attracted increased exploration interest from companies including Shell, TotalEnergies and Galp as Namibia emerges as a potential new global oil province.
Chevron plans to drill exploration wells in the licence area, including a potential well at the Gemsbok Prospect.
According to the company’s environmental documentation, the first well could be drilled during the 2026–2027 period, although the company has indicated that it currently intends to drill one well during that timeframe.
The drilling programme forms part of Chevron’s broader strategy to evaluate Namibia’s offshore hydrocarbon potential.
In January last year, Chevron confirmed that its first exploration well in the Orange Basin did not encounter commercially viable hydrocarbon reserves.
