Shell’s new oil discovery adds fuel to Namibia’s black gold rush

June 10, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Shell Namibia Upstream, a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered energy giant Shell, has found more oil in the Orange Basin off the coast of Namibia.

Deepsea Mira rig; Source: Odjell Drilling

Shell and its partners, QatarEnergy and NAMCOR, have reported encouraging exploration results from the Merlin-1X exploration well in petroleum exploration license No. 0039 (PEL 0039), offshore Namibia, further advancing their evaluation of this Orange Basin block.

Spudded on April 8, 2026, the well, which is the tenth one drilled in the license operated by Shell, penetrated the Coniacian play, delivering what is described as the most promising subsurface results to date in PEL 0039, indicating good reservoir quality with light oil and limited associated gas, compared to prior results within the license.

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Eugene Okpere, Shell’s Executive Vice President for Exploration, Strategy and Portfolio, commented: “These are encouraging results that add to our understanding of the Orange Basin potential. We are progressing this opportunity through a disciplined, data-led approach to establish commerciality, focusing our investment on options that are material, competitive and resilient within our portfolio.”

The results are perceived to enhance the operator’s understanding of the basin, and support continued evaluation of the resource and its commercial potential across the license. Further drilling later in 2026 is under consideration as part of a broader exploratory appraisal program.

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Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy, emphasized: “We are pleased with this discovery, which follows three earlier discovery announcements in Namibia.

“These results represent a significant step that further strengthens confidence in the Orange Basin as an emerging world-class hydrocarbon province and aligns with QatarEnergy’s strategy to expand its international upstream portfolio through high-impact exploration.”

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Shell hired Northern Ocean’s Deepsea Mira rig, which is managed by Odfjell Drilling, for drilling work offshore Namibia, with the start date slated for April 2026. The contract covers one firm well and includes one optional well.