THE acquisition by Petrobras and TotalEnergies of a stake in oil block 2613 – associated with petroleum licence 104 – is unlawful, according to the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy.
Brazilian Petroleum corporation Petrobras on Friday announced that it had acquired a 42.5% stake in oil block 2613. Total Energies also acquired a 42.5% stake and was announced as the operator of the block.
“The ministry wishes to clarify that the Namibian government was not notified about these developments, as required by law. The government makes clear that in accordance with the law, any transfer, assignment, or acquisition of participating interests in petroleum licences in Namibia must obtain prior approval of the minister,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
The ministry says it was informed of Petrobras’ press release only minutes before it went public.
Section 9(1)(b) of the Petroleum Act states: “no person shall transfer a licence or grant, cede or assign any interest in a licence to any other person, or be joined as a joint holder of a licence otherwise than in writing and with the approval in writing of the minister.”
The ministry says Petrobras and Total Energies, therefore, acted illegally if they did not receive approval from the minister.
The oil block was previously owned by Eight Offshore Investment Holdings (Eight) and Maravilla Oil & Gas.
Petrobras on Friday said Eight would continue to hold 5% of the stake. The remaining 10% is held by the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia.
Petroleum exploration licence (PEL) 104 covers an area of 11 000 square kilometres and is located at the Lüderitz Basin.
TotalEnergies already operates three other licences in the Orange Basin, PEL 91, PEL 56 (Venus discovery), and PEL 83 (Mopane discovery).
TotalEnergies acquired its 40% stake in PEL 83 last December, entering an operating partnership with Galp Energia for the block. The company beat out several competitors, including Petrobras, in the bidding process.
Questions sent to Petrobras and TotalEnergies yesterday were not responded to by the time of going to print.
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