QatarEnergy has agreed to acquire a 25% interest in petroleum exploration licence PEL82 from Chevron Namibia Exploration II Limited, a subsidiary of Chevron, expanding the Qatari state company's portfolio in Namibia to four licences. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval, and no financial terms have been disclosed.
PEL82 covers approximately 11,444 square kilometres offshore Namibia, encompassing blocks 2112B and 2212A. The licence spans water depths ranging from 350 to 2,300 metres, placing it across a broad depth range from shallow shelf to deepwater territory. The acreage sits within the Orange Basin region, which has drawn sustained international attention since major discoveries were announced in adjacent blocks in recent years.
The transaction marks another step in QatarEnergy's deliberate accumulation of offshore Namibian acreage. The company has been systematically building a position in the basin, and this stake purchase brings its total Namibian licence count to four. For Chevron, retaining the remaining interest in PEL82 signals continued commitment to its Namibian exploration programme, with the deal structure suggesting a farm-down rather than a full exit.
Namibia's offshore sector has become one of the most actively pursued frontier exploration destinations on the continent following landmark discoveries that have attracted a widening circle of international operators and national oil companies. PEL82's water depth range — reaching 2,300 metres at its deepest — places portions of the block firmly in the domain of technically demanding deepwater operations, requiring specialised drilling and subsea infrastructure capabilities. No exploration wells on PEL82 have been referenced in the announcement, indicating the licence remains at an early stage pending regulatory clearance of the deal.
The agreement, once approved by Namibian regulators, will formalise QatarEnergy's minority participation alongside Chevron in a block that spans a substantial footprint of the offshore basin. The pace of international investment into Namibian offshore licences continues to reflect strong operator confidence in the basin's prospectivity, with farm-in transactions of this type typically preceding exploration drilling campaigns as partners align technical and financial commitments.