Pancontinental says shortlisted candidates in the farmout process for Petroleum Exploration Licence 87 (PEL 87) offshore southern Namibia have now gained access to the project’s data room and are continuing to advance technical evaluations of the exploration opportunity as the company engages potential partners.
PEL 87 is located in the offshore Orange Basin in southern Namibia and covers an area of approximately 10,970 square kilometres.
The licence lies along the same regional trend as several major hydrocarbon discoveries made in recent years by TotalEnergies, Shell, Galp Energia and the joint venture between Rhino Resources and Azule Energy.
The licence was originally awarded in early 2018 to a joint venture led by Pancontinental Energy for up to three exploration terms spanning eight years, with possible extensions.
It may be converted into a production licence under pre-agreed terms if a commercial discovery is made.
The Australian-listed explorer says discussions are ongoing with several groups reviewing the asset and that a further update will be provided once material developments occur.
At the same time, the company is progressing with environmental and regulatory work required for future drilling.
Windhoek-based consultancy Risk Based Solutions CC (RBS) is assisting Pancontinental with the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment for exploration and appraisal drilling within PEL 87.
Company representatives met the RBS team in Windhoek in early December 2025 to review timelines, with progress currently on track to secure drilling permits before the end of 2026.
The company is also engaging with Namibia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy regarding the licence’s exploration period.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary Pancontinental Orange Pty Ltd, the operator of the PEL 87 joint venture, Pancontinental submitted an application on 6 October 2025 requesting a 12-month extension to the licence’s First Renewal Exploration Period.
The exploration period formally ended on 22 January 2026, although the company says it has not yet received formal notification from the ministry regarding the application.
Pancontinental noted that neither the Namibian Petroleum Act nor the PEL 87 petroleum agreement specifically addresses the situation where an extension request is still under consideration after the expiry date. However, the company noted that, under the Petroleum Act, licence renewal applications do not expire while the ministry continues to review them.
The company says it is liaising with the ministry and will issue a further announcement once formal confirmation is received.
Representatives from Pancontinental also met officials from the ministry and joint venture partners in Windhoek in early December 2025 for routine technical advisory committee meetings and operational reviews.
Participants in the PEL 87 joint venture include Pancontinental Orange Pty Ltd, the operator with a 75% interest; Namibia-based Custos Investments, with 15%; and NAMCOR, with the remaining 10%.
Pancontinental regards PEL 87 as hosting three major “anchor” prospects — Oryx, Hyrax and the Northern Channel — each believed to contain significant prospective resources with encouraging geological chances of success.
The Oryx and Hyrax prospects form part of the Saturn Complex play system, meaning that a successful exploration well at either structure could significantly de-risk the broader prospect inventory.
The company estimates that the Saturn Complex alone could host more than 5 billion barrels of recoverable oil across 6 prospective structures, based on high-case resource estimates.
During the latest reporting period, Pancontinental also advanced geotechnical work to mature and refine its exploration targets.
Basin modelling, seismic sequence stratigraphy, and quantitative interpretation studies have been carried out to understand the petroleum system better and reduce geological risk.
These studies have strengthened the company’s confidence in the block’s prospectivity, with Pancontinental now identifying hydrocarbon potential across eight prospects and leads within the PEL 87 licence area.
