Namibia: bp becomes operator of three Walvis oil blocks for $2.7 million

The Namibian government gave the green light on October 2, 2026, for the transfer of 60% of three offshore oil permits to the British company bp, which now becomes the operator. Formal approval was received the previous day, according to the daily newspaper The Namibian. The permits in question—PEL 97, 99, and 100—are located in the Walvis Basin, off the Namibian coast.

Upon completion of the transaction, the shareholding will be divided between bp (60%), the junior firm Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas (25%), and the state-owned company Namcor (15%). bp will pay 44 million Namibian dollars, equivalent to 2.7 million US dollars, to Eco Atlantic and will cover exploration costs. The initial agreement between the two companies was signed on April 10, 2026.

Seismic work, no drilling

The work program is intentionally cautious: bp must reprocess existing seismic data on one permit and acquire at least 3,000 square kilometers of 3D seismic data on the other two. No wells are scheduled for the time being. If the permits enter their second renewal period in 2028 and drilling is initiated, Eco Atlantic may sell an additional 10% to bp, which would then cover up to 63 million dollars in exploration costs, capped at 21 million per well and per permit, according to the Ecofin Agency.

The CEO of Eco Atlantic, Gil Holzman, described this regulatory approval as a "significant milestone" for the company.

A basin that has already disappointed

The Walvis Basin is not the eldorado that the Orange Basin has become further south, where the Venus and Graff discoveries have propelled Namibia among the continent's future producers. In 2013, the Brazilian firm HRT Participações em Petróleo drilled Wingat-1 there, which revealed non-commercial oil, and Murombe-1, which resulted in no discovery. Hence the method chosen by bp: spend on seismic data first, decide on drilling later.

The state's share in question

For Namibia, the arrival of a major remains a signal of confidence sent to the markets. But Namcor's 15% stake highlights the question that runs through the entire African extractive sector: at what level should public participation be set so that oil revenue truly funds the country's schools, roads, and industry, rather than just the dividends of foreign shareholders? Windhoek has so far favored open agreements to accelerate exploration. The upcoming seismic campaign will show whether this gamble attracts the promised capital.