Pancontinental Energy has outlined a high-case prospective resource of 2.5 billion barrels of oil at its PEL 87 licence offshore Namibia, following a significant upgrade to its estimates across the Saturn Complex.
The Oryx prospect alone now carries a best estimate (2U) of 815 million barrels and a high-case (3U) of 1.87 billion barrels, with the geological chance of success (GCoS) improved to 26.2%.
The figures are based on a comprehensive Quantitative Interpretation (QI) program that integrated 3D seismic analysis with successful analogue discoveries in the Orange Basin, including those by TotalEnergies, Shell, and Galp Energia.
The QI results highlighted amplitude-supported anomalies across multiple stacked targets, reinforcing the scale and technical credibility of the play.
In addition to Oryx, the Calypso and Addax targets can be tested from a single well location, offering a combined high-case prospective resource of 2.5 billion barrels.
The wider Saturn Complex also includes the Hyrax prospect and six additional leads, contributing an estimated 537 million barrels (2U) and more than 2.1 billion barrels (3U) gross.
Pancontinental holds a 75% operating interest in PEL 87, while the Namibian state-owned oil company, Namcor, has a 15% stake, and local partner Custos Energy retains a 10% stake.
The licence covers approximately 10,970 square kilometres in the southern Namibian offshore sector.
As part of its commercial strategy, Pancontinental is actively engaged in farm-out discussions with multiple international oil companies, including supermajors and national oil firms.
The goal is to secure a partner to fund drilling of a maiden exploration well at Oryx, which could simultaneously evaluate the Calypso and Addax targets. The company said the strong technical and volumetric results have attracted renewed interest in the data room process.
“The Pancontinental technical team continues to deliver, such that we are now able to pinpoint a single well location at the Oryx prospect that offers oil potential at three discrete intervals,” said CEO Iain Smith.
“This single well has a combined 2.5 billion barrels of high-case prospective resource, with the geological chance of success upgraded to 26.2%.”
The prospective resources apply a conservative 30% recovery factor, but Pancontinental noted that regional reservoir characteristics—including high porosity and permeability—could support higher ultimate recoveries. Additional upgrades are expected later in 2025 as the QI model is refined with further seismic calibration.
With geological confidence increasing and multi-billion-barrel upside confirmed, PEL 87 stands out as one of the most promising undrilled licences in Namibia’s emerging offshore oil sector.
The ongoing farm-out process is viewed as a critical step toward unlocking the basin’s full exploration potential.
