Qatar Petroleum (QP) has struck a deal to work with Shell at two blocks offshore Namibia.
QP will have a 45% stake in PEL 39, which covers Blocks 2913A and 2914B. Shell will have 45% and state-owned Namcor the remaining 10%.
“With this second exploration and production sharing agreement in Namibia, we are pleased to expand our exploration footprint in the country, and to further strengthen our presence in the southern Africa region,” said QP’s president and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
“Working on these promising and prospective blocks with our valued long-term partner, Shell, is another step in our stride towards achieving our international growth strategy. We look forward to working together with the Namibian government, NAMCOR and Shell on these blocks.”
The deal requires Namibian government approval.
The PEL 39 licence covers areas in water depths of around 2,500 metres. It covers an area of around 12,300 square km.
The licence is on Namibia’s southern maritime border with South Africa.
QP entered Namibia in August 2019, striking a deal to work on the neighbouring offshore Blocks 2913B and 2912.
The 2019 deal involved QP and Total. QP took a 30% stake in the first block and 28.33% in the second.
The French company plans to drill the hotly tipped Venus well in Block 2913B in the third quarter of this year.
Shell has set out plans to drill on PEL 39. It had planned to drill there in 2020 but pushed this back.
QP has taken the 45% stake that was previously held by Kosmos Energy. The US-based company farmed out its stake to Shell in December 2020, along with interests in Suriname and Sao Tome & Principe.