Equinor is hoping Chevron’s planned Nabba-1X exploration well offshore Namibia will deliver a “pretty big” oil discovery comparable to major finds already made in the Orange Basin, as the Norwegian energy group prepares to participate in its first deepwater exploration well in the country later this year.
The company has now narrowed the expected drilling window for Nabba-1X to the southern hemisphere spring, with the well expected to be drilled in water depths of more than 2,000 metres on Petroleum Exploration Licence 90 (PEL 90), directly north of TotalEnergies’ Venus discovery.
Equinor executive vice-president for Exploration and Production International Philippe Mathieu said at the Offshore Northern Seas conference in Stavanger this week that the company was hoping the Chevron-operated prospect could produce a result comparable to the large discoveries that have driven international interest in Namibia.
“We’re hoping for something similar,” Mathieu said, referring to Venus, although he cautioned that the well remained a high-risk exploration investment.
He said the probability of finding hydrocarbons was relatively low, as is typical of frontier exploration, “but if we find resources, then it could be pretty big”.
Mathieu declined to disclose Equinor’s estimate of the prospective resources targeted by Nabba-1X, but said the potential prize was large enough to justify the company’s decision to establish an upstream position in Namibia.
“It is attractive enough for us [to] warrant … a country entry, or at least a re-entry,” he said.
The reference to a re-entry reflects Equinor’s earlier history in Namibia. Its predecessor, Statoil, was awarded Namibia’s first offshore exploration block in 1991, meaning its acquisition of an interest in PEL 90 represents a return to a country where it explored more than three decades ago.
Equinor announced on 18 August that it had agreed to acquire a 17.4% participating interest in PEL 90 from Chevron subsidiary Harmattan Energy Limited, giving it exposure to the Nabba prospect shortly before drilling. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and completion processes.
Once completed, Chevron’s interest will fall from 52.5% to 35.1%, while QatarEnergy will retain 27.5%, Trago Energy 10% and state-owned Namcor 10%.
Chevron had previously indicated that Nabba-1X would be drilled before the end of 2026, but Equinor’s comments at ONS provide a more specific indication of when the partners expect the campaign to proceed.
The well is significant because PEL 90 lies immediately north of the acreage containing TotalEnergies’ Venus discovery, placing Nabba in a part of the Orange Basin where exploration companies are attempting to establish how widely the petroleum systems responsible for Namibia’s major discoveries extend.
Equinor’s decision to enter the licence shortly before drilling also gives it immediate exposure to exploration rather than requiring the company to undertake several years of seismic acquisition and prospect maturation before testing the acreage.
Mathieu was in Namibia last week meeting key stakeholders ahead of the company’s participation in the programme and said Equinor had received a positive reception.
“We’re looking to bring our experience from Norway and internationally to support Namibia and Namcor to develop the industry as well,” he said.
The Nabba well also forms part of a broader shift in Equinor’s international exploration strategy as the company seeks discoveries to replenish a portfolio it wants to grow substantially over the remainder of the decade.
Equinor is targeting international equity production of about 950,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, up from around 750,000 boe/d during the second quarter of this year. It expects its international portfolio to generate approximately US$20 billion in free cash flow between 2026 and 2030.
The company has concentrated much of that growth around established positions in the United States, Brazil and Angola, while increasing exploration to generate projects that can support production beyond already approved developments.
Namibia has now been incorporated into that exploration strategy, with Equinor describing the Orange Basin as a promising area that complements its broader Atlantic Margin portfolio.
Nabba-1X will provide the first major test of that decision.
A discovery would give Equinor an immediate foothold in Namibia’s emerging offshore petroleum province alongside Chevron, QatarEnergy, Namcor and Trago, while a result approaching the scale the partners are targeting could add another significant discovery to an Orange Basin already containing Venus and other finds.
Mathieu, however, made clear that the company was entering the well with the risks of frontier exploration firmly in mind, meaning Nabba’s significance will ultimately depend on whether the geological similarities that attracted Equinor to PEL 90 translate into hydrocarbons when Chevron drills later this year.
