Namibia Extends Namcor Oil Exploration Licence as Farm Out Talks Continue

Namibia has granted state-owned oil company Namcor an extension on its petroleum exploration licence for PEL 102, an offshore block in the Lüderitz Basin where the company holds an 80% operating stake.

According to reports published Tuesday by Upstream Online, the extension gives Namcor and its Canadian partner Stamper Oil & Gas which holds the remaining 20% additional time to complete a farm-out process. These agreements typically involve bringing in another company to take on part of the exploration risk in exchange for funding activities such as seismic surveys and drilling.

Rising Interest and Regulatory Oversight

The decision carries implications beyond PEL 102. The Lüderitz Basin remains relatively underexplored and sits between the Walvis Basin to the north and the more active Orange Basin to the south.

Interest in the basin has been growing. In February 2026, TotalEnergies and Petrobras announced they had each acquired 42.5% stakes in the nearby PEL 104 licence, an area covering roughly 11,000 square kilometres, where Namcor retains a 10% interest. However, the transaction drew a cautious response from Namibian authorities. According to Reuters, the government said it would not recognise the deal until all regulatory approval processes are completed.

Namibia’s offshore sector has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Estimates cited by Rigzone in August 2025 suggest the country could hold up to 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil, positioning it as one of the more promising frontier regions globally.