Equinor Bets Big on Namibia's Oil Potential with Nabba-1X Well

Norwegian energy company Equinor is joining Chevron in exploring Namibia's offshore oil potential, hoping to replicate the large finds made in the Orange Basin. The Nabba-1X exploration well will be drilled this spring in water depths exceeding 2,000 meters.

Equinor recently secured a 17.4% stake in Petroleum Exploration Licence 90 (PEL 90) from Chevron subsidiary Harmattan Energy Limited, positioning the company to immediately engage in exploration without a lengthy seismic acquisition phase.

Philippe Mathieu, Executive Vice-President for Exploration and Production International at Equinor, expressed optimism about the potential scale of the find but emphasized the inherent risks of frontier exploration: 'We're hoping for something similar' to TotalEnergies’ Venus discovery. He acknowledged the probability of finding hydrocarbons is relatively low in new frontier areas, but added, 'if we find resources, then it could be pretty big.'

The Nabba-1X well, operated by Chevron, will test Equinor's strategy for growing its international exploration portfolio, which aims to reach 950,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.