From Berseba-1 to Venus
Namibia’s oil and gas story did not begin with the major discoveries announced in the Orange Basin after 2022. The country’s petroleum history stretches back almost a century. It has been shaped by dozens of exploration campaigns, failed wells, corporate exits, and renewed attempts by companies convinced that Namibia’s offshore basins hold world-class hydrocarbon systems.
The earliest recorded attempt to drill for oil in Namibia dates back to 1928 with the Berseba-1 well in the Nama Basin in southern Namibia. The well was drilled near the town of Berseba during the period of South African administration, when geological surveys suggested the possibility of hydrocarbons in the region. Historical petroleum records indicate that the well experienced drilling complications, including a blowout, and ultimately failed to deliver commercial hydrocarbons. Despite the lack of success, Berseba-1 marked the beginning of Namibia’s petroleum exploration history.
Large-scale exploration only gained momentum decades later when offshore basins began attracting international oil companies. Namibia’s continental margin became a target during the 1960s and 1970s as geologists began mapping the Walvis and Orange basins along the Atlantic coast.
One of the most important early offshore discoveries came in 1974 when the American oil major, Chevron, discovered the Kudu gas field in the Orange Basin. The discovery confirmed that Namibia’s offshore petroleum system was capable of generating and trapping hydrocarbons. Although the field contained significant gas resources, the project struggled for decades to move into production due to development costs, infrastructure challenges, and fluctuating gas markets. Control of the Kudu project changed hands several times over the years, involving companies including Energy Africa, Tullow Oil, Gazprom, Namcor, and BW Energy, reflecting the long and difficult journey of one of Namibia’s earliest offshore discoveries.
The period from the 1980s through to the early 2000s saw multiple exploration campaigns by international oil companies, including Shell, Total, Exxon, and Petrobras. These companies drilled several offshore wells across the Orange and Walvis basins. Many of those wells encountered hydrocarbons but failed to deliver commercially viable discoveries, leading to cycles of entry and exit by operators. Total, now TotalEnergies, was among the companies active in Namibia during this early exploration era and remained engaged with the country’s offshore potential for decades. Shell also maintained a long history of exploration activity in Namibia before the modern discovery phase began.
A significant modern exploration campaign occurred in the early 2010s when Brazilian independent HRT Participações em Petróleo entered Namibia with a large acreage position across the Walvis and Orange basins. Under the leadership of geologist Marcio Mello, HRT drilled several wells between 2013 and 2014. Among the most important of these wells was Wingat-1 in the Walvis Basin, which recovered oil to the surface and confirmed an active petroleum system. Another well, Murombe-1, also drilled in the Walvis Basin, failed to confirm the presence of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. HRT also drilled Moosehead-1 in the Orange Basin in partnership with Galp Energia. Although the well was officially declared a dry hole, geological analysis later suggested it had come close to the trend that would eventually host some of the major discoveries made nearly a decade later.
Despite the technical significance of the results, the HRT campaign did not lead to commercial development. The company later withdrew from Namibia and its licences were redistributed to other operators, but the drilling data played a major role in shaping future exploration models for the basin.
The next major wave of exploration came in the early 2020s as improved seismic imaging and renewed global interest in frontier basins drew international companies back to Namibia. Shell drilled the Graff-1 well in Petroleum Exploration Licence 39 in the Orange Basin in 2022. The well encountered hydrocarbons and was followed by additional discoveries, including La Rona-1 and Jonker-1. These discoveries confirmed the presence of a working petroleum system in the basin and attracted global attention to Namibia’s offshore potential.
Shell continued its exploration campaign with additional wells, including Graff-1A, Jonker-1A, Jonker-2A, Lesedi-1X, Cullinan-1X, and Enigma-1X. Several of these wells encountered hydrocarbons. However, Shell later disclosed in corporate updates that the discoveries in PEL 39 were more complex than initially expected. Reservoir characteristics, including low permeability and high gas content, created development challenges. In early 2025, Shell announced an impairment of approximately US$400 million related to its Namibia exploration portfolio. Despite this write-down, the company said that it continued to see geological potential in the basin and was evaluating future exploration opportunities in the country.
At almost the same time, TotalEnergies announced the Venus-1X discovery in Petroleum Exploration Licence 56 in the Orange Basin. The discovery was made in partnership with QatarEnergy, Impact Oil and Gas, and Namibia’s national oil company, Namcor. Venus is widely considered the most advanced of Namibia’s offshore discoveries and has moved into appraisal and development planning. TotalEnergies has said in company updates that the project is progressing toward a potential final investment decision later this decade.
Another major discovery followed when Portugal’s Galp Energia drilled Mopane-1X and Mopane-2X in Petroleum Exploration Licence 83. The wells confirmed a significant hydrocarbon column, further establishing the Orange Basin as a world-class petroleum province. In 2024, the exploration landscape continued to expand with the Capricornus-1X discovery by Rhino Resources in Petroleum Exploration Licence 85, also in the Orange Basin. The well confirmed the presence of high-quality oil and gas, adding to the growing list of successful discoveries in the region.
The entry of new major players has further validated Namibia’s offshore potential. Chevron returned to Namibia decades after its initial involvement in the Kudu gas discovery. In 2024, Chevron farmed into Petroleum Exploration Licence 82 in the Walvis Basin, becoming the operator with an 80 per cent interest alongside Custos Energy and Namcor. The move marked the re-entry of one of the world’s largest oil companies into Namibia’s frontier exploration landscape.
Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, Petrobras, has also returned to Namibia’s offshore sector. In 2026, Petrobras acquired a stake in Petroleum Exploration Licence 104 alongside TotalEnergies as part of its strategy to expand exploration in frontier basins along the Atlantic margin.
Exploration has not been limited to offshore basins. Onshore exploration has also taken place in the Kavango Basin of northern Namibia. Canadian-listed Reconnaissance Energy Africa, commonly known as ReconAfrica, has drilled multiple wells in the basin since 2021, including the Kavango-6-2 well. The company has said there are indications of hydrocarbons and continues to evaluate the basin’s petroleum potential through seismic surveys and additional drilling. Another company active in Namibia’s frontier exploration is 88 Energy, which has pursued petroleum licences and geological studies to identify new opportunities in underexplored basins.
The cumulative effect of these exploration campaigns has been to transform Namibia from a largely overlooked petroleum province into one of the world’s most closely watched frontier basins. Discoveries by companies including TotalEnergies, Shell, Galp, and Rhino Resources have confirmed that the Orange Basin hosts a working petroleum system capable of generating large hydrocarbon accumulations.
At the same time, Namibia’s exploration history also shows how long and uncertain the path to production can be. From the Berseba-1 well drilled in 1928 to the offshore discoveries made almost a century later, the country’s oil story has been shaped as much by unsuccessful wells and abandoned projects as by successful discoveries.
The next phase of Namibia’s petroleum story will depend on whether the major discoveries made in the Orange Basin can be developed commercially. If projects such as Venus, Mopane, and Capricornus move into production later this decade, they will represent the culmination of nearly one hundred years of exploration, geological persistence, and repeated returns by companies convinced that Namibia’s offshore basins still hold untapped potential.
