Oil exploration in Namibia’s Owambo Basin is heating up, with 88 Energy planning its next phase to pinpoint future drilling sites in early 2026.
The company says its next phase of work on petroleum exploration licence (PEL) 93 in the area will focus on assessing prospectivity across the block.
The update follows the completion and processing of 200km of two-dimensional seismic data by the PEL 93 operator, which the company says has revealed notable structural features within the largely underexplored basin.
According to 88 Energy, the upcoming programme will include preparatory work for a planned multi-reservoir exploration well.
The company says this will depend on the final outcomes of seismic interpretation and joint-venture funding arrangements.
It says the proposed well is intended to target several formations, reflecting growing confidence in the basin’s potential.
“We will also incorporate aero-gravity data and results from nearby peer drilling into our evaluation.
During the first half of 2026, our focus will be on assessing prospectivity and selecting the drilling locations,” the company says.
88 Energy also pointed to neighbouring activity by ReconAfrica as further evidence of the basin’s promise.
The company says ReconAfrica’s Naingopo-1 well had intersected more than 50m of net reservoir, while drilling at the Kavango West 1X well had recorded multiple oil and gas shows, supporting signs of an active petroleum system.
88 Energy holds a 20% non-operated working interest in PEL 93, which spans about 914 000 net acres.
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