BP is moving deeper into Namibia’s offshore oil story, taking operatorship of three Walvis Basin licenses in a transaction that could eventually put up to $63 million of exploration drilling costs on the energy giant.

The British oil major will initially take a 60% interest in the blocks from Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas for $2.7 million, while Namibia’s state-owned Namcor will remain a partner. The immediate focus is not drilling, however, but building a clearer picture of what lies beneath the licenses.

For Namibia, the deal adds another major international energy company to its offshore exploration push at a time when the country is trying to establish whether its petroleum resources can support a large-scale commercial industry.

Seismic work comes first

BP’s first obligation under the agreement is an extensive seismic program. It must reprocess existing seismic data from one of the licenses and collect at least 3,000 square kilometers of new 3D seismic data across the other two.

That work is designed to improve BP’s understanding of the subsurface before any decision is made on drilling.

A potential drilling campaign is tied to the licenses reaching their second renewal period in 2028. If that happens and BP commits to an exploration well, a separate part of the agreement could significantly increase its financial exposure.

Eco Atlantic could sell another 10% interest to BP, with BP then covering all costs attributable to the remaining 15% interest. The funding arrangement is capped at $21 million per well on each license, creating a potential maximum of $63 million across the three blocks.

Government clears the way

Namibia’s Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy approved the transaction on Oct. 1, with Eco Atlantic announcing the approval the following day.

The decision completes the government approvals required under Namibia’s Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act and clears the way for the ownership and operatorship changes.

The speed of the approval also stands out against another Walvis Basin transaction. Tower Resources announced the sale of part of its license on Jan. 10, 2025, but received government approval only on June 25, 2026, about 17 months later.

Eco Atlantic and BP signed their own agreement on April 10, putting the latest transaction on a much shorter approval timeline.

Walvis Basin still has questions

BP’s new position comes with the benefit of a basin that has already attracted exploration companies, but previous drilling has not yet established a commercial discovery.

Two wells drilled in 2013 illustrate the uncertainty. Wingat-1 encountered oil, but the quantities were not commercially viable, while Murombe-1, located about 15 kilometers away, produced no discovery. HRT Participações em Petróleo was the operator at the time.

BP’s entry therefore represents less a guaranteed oil development than a fresh attempt to determine whether the Walvis Basin can deliver a commercially valuable discovery. Under the completed transaction, BP will hold 60%, Eco Atlantic 25% and Namcor the balance of the three licenses.