Oregen Energy’s vice president of exploration, Stuart Monroe, says Namibia’s Orange Basin could become one of the world’s next great oil provinces. Monroe told CEO Mason Granger during an investor briefing podcast that the company’s geological work in the basin points to a petroleum system as promising as any in Africa.
Sitting across from Granger, he spoke with the conviction of a man who has spent decades chasing the right rocks — and believes he has finally found them.
Oregen Energy, a Canadian-based exploration company, entered Namibia in 2024 after securing exploration rights over Block 2712A in the southern part of the Orange Basin.
The move followed the wave of discoveries made by Shell and TotalEnergies in adjacent blocks, which confirmed the basin’s petroleum potential. Since then, Oregen has focused on technical studies and seismic interpretation to identify high-potential drilling targets.
“When you line up the geology, the global demand outlook, and Namibia’s stability, it’s hard not to be excited,” Monroe said. “This basin has all the right ingredients — source, reservoir, and traps. The potential here is enormous.”
Granger, who took over as CEO earlier this year, told investors that Oregen’s move into Namibia was guided by clear geological logic. “We think Namibia is in the early innings of something huge,” he said. “The fundamentals here tick every box for a world-class basin.”
The river that built a basin
For Monroe, the story begins far inland, with the Orange River, which over millions of years carried vast loads of sediment from the highlands of southern Africa to the Atlantic.
“It’s Africa’s fourth-largest river,” he said. “Its sediments built what we now call the Orange Basin.”
As the Atlantic opened during the Cretaceous period, the river’s sands accumulated offshore, forming thick reservoir layers. Beneath them lie organic-rich Aptian-age source rocks, the same geological formation that powers the oilfields of Angola, Ghana, and Nigeria. “That’s the foundation of why we’re so confident about Namibia,” Monroe said.
A submarine delta the size of a continent
The Orange River’s underwater delta, invisible to the eye but mapped by seismic lines, mirrors some of the world’s most prolific petroleum systems.
“It’s almost identical in scale to the Niger Delta,” Monroe explained. “And we know what the Niger has done — half a century of production onshore and now deep-water fields down to 3,000 metres.”
That deltaic system, he said, provides both the source and the trap for hydrocarbons. “We see thick sand sequences with excellent porosity and mature source rock beneath. It’s the recipe for a major petroleum province.”
The Venus connection
Oregen’s Block 2712A lies next to TotalEnergies’ Block 2913B, home to the giant Venus discovery, a light-oil field thought to hold several billion barrels.
“Our block sits in roughly the same water depth,” Monroe said. “We see the same Aptian source rock, the same turbidite systems, and the same structural setup — the outer high that forms the trapping mechanism. The only difference is that we expect less overburden here, which means less gas and more oil.”
Gas, he noted, complicates deep-water economics. “It’s costly to handle. You either need long pipelines or liquefaction,” he said.
“That’s one reason Venus is taking time to reach final investment decision, expected in 2026. With lighter oil and less gas, our development could be simpler.”
The outer high, a vast ridge parallel to Namibia’s coast, plays a central role in both Venus and Oregen’s acreage. “Many of the turbidite sands onlap against this feature,” Monroe said. “It creates both structural and stratigraphic traps — ideal for oil accumulation. Beyond that ridge, the source rock is mature and actively generating hydrocarbons.”
Granger said that combination gives Oregen’s block a familiar exploration profile: frontier risk with world-class upside. “You need the right rocks, the right partners, and the right timing,” he said. “Namibia has all three.”
Riding the momentum
Since Shell’s Graff and Jonker discoveries and TotalEnergies’ Venus success between 2022 and 2023, the Orange Basin has become one of the most sought-after addresses in global oil exploration.
Drilling success rates are among the highest in the world, with nearly every well encountering hydrocarbons.
“Every new discovery compounds confidence,” Granger said. “We’re seeing what we saw in Guyana a decade ago — the early stage of a world-class petroleum province.”
Oregen’s immediate focus is on de-risking its acreage through new 3D seismic surveys and partnership talks ahead of a maiden exploration well.
But both executives speak as though they already see the bigger picture.
“The Orange Basin has all the hallmarks of a long-lived petroleum system,” Granger said. “When you combine the geology, the global energy transition that still values reliable oil supply, and Namibia’s investor-friendly policies, the potential is extraordinary.”
Monroe nodded in agreement. “I’ve spent my career chasing the right rocks,” he said. “This basin has them all.”
For Oregen Energy, Namibia’s Atlantic coast is not just another exploration venture — it’s the frontier. A story written by rivers and oceans millions of years ago, now being rediscovered beneath the waves.
