ExxonMobil farms in to PEL 44, offshore Namibia
WINDHOEK, Namibia -- Azinam Limited (Azinam), the Seacrest Capital Group-backed Namibian explorer, is pleased to announce that ExxonMobil Namibia (PEL44) Limited, an affiliate of ExxonMobil Corp., has entered into an agreement with Azinam to acquire a 30% interest in Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 44, offshore Namibia. The acquisition is subject to government approval and other conditions.
Azinam will retain a 12.5% interest, with Maurel and Prom, the license operator, retaining its current 42.5% equity interest and Namibian partners NAMCOR, Livingstone Mining, and Frontier Minerals also retaining their carried interests of 8%, 4% and 3%, respectively.
PEL 44 is located in the Walvis basin and covers an area of 5,722 km2, in water depths ranging from less than 300 m to over 2,500 m. In 2016, Azinam acquired a 2,000 km² 3D seismic survey. Following interpretation, Azinam acquired an additional 1,160 km² of new data. Processing of this data is ongoing.
This transaction further builds upon the increasing industry activity in Namibia, with ONGC recently farming into PEL 37, where the operator, Tullow Oil, is planning to spud a well in third-quarter 2018. In addition, the operator of the PEL 71 license partnership, in which Azinam holds a 20% interest, has recently secured the Ocean Rig Poseidon to drill Prospect S in fourth-quarter 2018.
