South African geophysical services company Xcalibur has been awarded a contract to carry out an airborne magnetic, radiometric, and scalar gravity survey across part of Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL 93) in the Owambo Basin, northern Namibia.
The contract was issued by MEL Oil and Gas Exploration (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Monitor Exploration Limited (MELN), acting on behalf of the PEL 93 Joint Venture.
PEL 93 lies in the heart of the Owambo Basin, an onshore sedimentary basin covering roughly 18,500 square kilometres in northern Namibia.
The licence, initially awarded in 2018, was granted a 12-month extension in July 2025 by Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, pushing its first renewal exploration period to October 2026.
The basin, geologically linked to hydrocarbon-bearing basins in southern Angola and the Congo Craton, remains one of Namibia’s least explored petroleum frontiers.
The PEL 93 Joint Venture includes MEL Oil and Gas Exploration (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd with a 55 per cent operating interest, 88 Energy Limited (ASX, AIM: 88E) with 20 per cent, Legend Oil Namibia (Pty) Ltd with 15 per cent, and Namcor, the Namibian state oil company, with 10 per cent.
Since securing the licence, MEL N has completed a series of exploration activities that have progressively refined its understanding of PEL 93’s subsurface potential.
These include passive seismic, soil-gas sampling, and remote-sensing studies, followed by a 200-kilometre 2D seismic survey completed in 2024.
Interpretation of that seismic data identified ten independent structural closures, some up to 100 square kilometres in area, with clear evidence of structural trapping and potential hydrocarbon charge.
The new airborne survey will build on these earlier results and mark the final step before drilling begins.
It will integrate all geological and geophysical datasets to pinpoint drilling targets.
The joint venture expects to commence its first exploration drilling campaign in the last quarter of 2026.
Preparations for the gravity and magnetic survey began in June and July 2025, involving extensive community-engagement sessions and an amendment to the existing Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) to include airborne gravity operations.
Xcalibur will conduct the survey using a single-engine Air Tractor aircraft equipped with its XMAG data-acquisition system, covering approximately 6,000 line kilometres. The aircraft will also deploy the iCORUS airborne gravity gradiometer and gravimeter, which offers an accuracy of about one mGal (RMS) and is designed to operate reliably under flight accelerations of up to 20 g—a significant advantage over conventional gradiometers in turbulent conditions.
Additional onboard instrumentation will include an Airborne Magnetometer, a Gamma Ray Spectrometer, GPS Navigation and Positioning Equipment, Attitude Sensor, and a Digital Data Acquisition System (XDAS). Xcalibur’s preliminary terrain and drape analysis indicates minimal operational constraints, allowing for uninterrupted data collection.
Data acquisition is expected to begin in January 2026, with final processed and interpreted results due by the end of February 2026.
The data will refine PEL 93’s subsurface model and guide final well-location selection.
“The airborne survey represents the last stage in enhancing our understanding of PEL 93’s subsurface potential,” the joint venture said in a statement. “Once interpreted, the data will provide the foundation for drilling our first well in late 2026.”
Monitor Exploration Limited, through MEL Namibia, has steadily built a comprehensive geological model of the Owambo Basin since 2018.
Its work to date—supported by the farm-in of 88 Energy and local partners—has positioned PEL 93 as one of Namibia’s most advanced onshore exploration licences.
The forthcoming Xcalibur survey is expected to culminate nearly seven years of exploration work, marking a decisive step toward testing the basin’s first modern exploration well and extending Namibia’s hydrocarbon frontier beyond the offshore Orange and Walvis Basins.
