The Namibian government says it was not notified of the transaction in which TotalEnergies and Petrobras each acquired a 42.5% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 104 (PEL 104) offshore Namibia, previously held by Eight Offshore Investments Holdings and Maravilla Oil & Gas.
The Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy said it was only informed of the planned announcement shortly before it was made public, adding that this did not meet legal notification requirements.
“The Ministry wishes to clarify that the Namibian Government was not notified about these developments, as required by law. Indeed, the Ministry was informed of the planned press release a few minutes prior to its release by the aforementioned parties. The Government makes it clear that in accordance with the law, any transfer, assignment, or acquisition of participating interests in petroleum licences in Namibia must obtain prior approval of the Minister,” the ministry said.
Upon completion of the transaction, TotalEnergies is expected to serve as operator of the licence, alongside Petrobras with 42.5%, NAMCOR with 10% and Eight Offshore Investments Holdings with 5%.
PEL 104 is located in the Lüderitz Basin and covers approximately 11,000 square kilometres. The transaction represents a further expansion of TotalEnergies’ exploration portfolio in Namibia and marks Petrobras’ return to the country’s offshore sector, which continues to attract global exploration interest following recent discoveries in the Orange Basin.
The deal follows TotalEnergies’ agreement with Galp Energia in December to exchange a 40% participating interest in PEL 83, home to the Mopane discovery, for a 10% stake in PEL 56, where the Venus discovery is located, as well as a 9.4% interest in PEL 91.
The government’s position, comes after a recent meeting in Windhoek between TotalEnergies Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Jean Pouyanné, Galp Chairperson Paula Amorim and President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, during which progress in Namibia’s offshore petroleum sector was discussed.
