Shell Strikes Strongest Offshore Oil Find to Date in Namibia

Shell has announced what it describes as its most promising offshore oil discovery in Namibia to date, further strengthening confidence in the Orange Basin as one of Africa’s most significant emerging energy regions.

The company, together with its partners QatarEnergy and Namibia’s national oil company NAMCOR, revealed the results of the Merlin-1X exploration well on June 9. Drilled on the PEL 39 offshore license, the well represents Shell’s tenth exploration well on the block and has delivered the strongest results recorded there so far.

According to Shell, Merlin-1X successfully intersected the targeted geological formation and encountered a high-quality reservoir containing light oil with relatively low volumes of associated gas. These results are considered more encouraging than those obtained from the previous nine wells drilled on PEL 39.

Eugene Okpere, Shell’s Executive Vice President for Exploration, Strategy and Portfolio, said the discovery provides valuable new information about the basin’s resource potential and supports ongoing efforts to determine whether the find can be developed commercially.

QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said the results reinforce confidence in the Orange Basin’s potential to become a world-class hydrocarbon province. Shell has indicated that additional drilling activities will take place on the license later this year as the company continues evaluating the block.

Discovery Follows Continued Exploration Activity

The Merlin-1X discovery is the latest milestone in Shell’s multi-year exploration campaign offshore Namibia. Shell announced its first oil discovery on PEL 39 in 2023, but subsequent assessments highlighted the technical challenges associated with the basin. While several wells encountered hydrocarbons, the company had not yet confirmed whether the discoveries were commercially viable.

To advance the programme, Shell signed a drilling agreement with offshore contractor Northern Ocean in late 2025, securing the Deepsea Mira rig for additional exploration work. Merlin-1X is the first reported result from that campaign.

The discovery adds momentum to Namibia’s emergence as one of the world’s most closely watched new oil frontiers. Several major discoveries have already been made across the Orange Basin. French energy giant TotalEnergies continues evaluating its Venus development, which is estimated to contain more than one billion barrels of recoverable oil. Meanwhile, Portuguese energy company Galp recently increased its resource estimate for the Mopane field to approximately 1.38 billion barrels of oil equivalent.