Pancontinental Energy NL says it has advanced discussions to secure a farm-out partner for Petroleum Exploration Licence 87 (PEL 87) offshore Namibia, with shortlisted companies now reviewing technical data on the block’s main exploration targets.
The Australian-listed company confirmed in its half-year report for the period ending 31 December 2025 that selected potential partners have been granted access to a confidential data room to conduct technical evaluations of the Saturn Complex, a large structural feature within the licence area in the Orange Basin.
“Shortlisted candidates for the PEL 87 farm-out process have now accessed the farm-out data room, with a number of groups continuing to advance their technical evaluations of the PEL 87 opportunity. The company is engaging with those groups and a further update will be provided as soon as material developments occur,” Pancontinental said in the report.
PEL 87 has been the company’s flagship asset in Namibia and recent work has focused on reducing geological risk ahead of a potential drilling campaign.
Pancontinental said it has identified eight prospects and leads within the block. Current technical work has focused on three primary exploration targets, Oryx, Hyrax and the Northern Channel, which have undergone detailed seismic sequence stratigraphy and quantitative interpretation studies.
The company has also applied for a 12-month extension to the First Renewal Exploration Period for the licence while it continues efforts to secure a farm-out partner. Formal confirmation from Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy is still pending.
As part of preparations for future drilling, Pancontinental has initiated an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a regulatory requirement before exploration or appraisal wells can be drilled.
Windhoek-based consultancy Risk Based Solutions CC has been appointed to assist with the environmental assessment process.
Pancontinental said its management team met with the consultancy during a visit to Windhoek in December 2025 to review timelines for the EIA process, with the aim of securing the necessary approvals to allow drilling to proceed before the end of 2026.
The company ended the reporting period with a cash balance of about US$3.17 million following a capital raising during the half-year.
Pancontinental said that with much of the technical de-risking work completed, its current focus is on securing a farm-out agreement that would provide funding for the next phase of exploration.
PEL 87 covers an area of about 10,970 square kilometres in deep water in the Orange Basin. The licence contains the Saturn Complex, which Pancontinental’s geological studies suggest could potentially hold more than five billion barrels of recoverable oil in a high-case scenario.
