Pancontinental picks up 12-month extension for Namibia’s Orange Basin permit

March 18th, 2026

Pancontinental Orange, a subsidiary of Australia-based petroleum exploration player Pancontinental Energy, has secured a one-year extension of its license off the coast of Namibia.

PEL 87 location map; Source: Pancontinental

Pancontinental has received a notification from the Namibian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) stating that the Minister has granted approval to the company’s application to extend the current first renewal exploration period by 12 months to January 22, 2027. The firm will now submit a deed of amendment to the PEL 87 petroleum agreement for approval.

This approval has been granted on condition that the work program commitments will be carried out during the extension period, including the undertaking of environmental impact assessment (EIA), reprocessing 3D seismic data and seismic interpretation, and drilling an exploration well. The energy player claims that the EIA is well advanced, having begun in mid-2025.

According to Pancontinental, the required seismic reprocessing work program component will focus on a subset of the PEL 87 3D seismic volume and is intended to examine the feasibility of improving seismic signal quality in specific areas.

Iain Smith, Pancontinental Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to have now confirmed ongoing tenure for PEL 87, which allows us to continue to focus on securing a farm-in partner in order to progress the project through to drilling at the earliest opportunity.”

PEL 87 in the Orange Basin offshore southern Namibia covers an area of 10,970 square kilometers and is perceived to be situated on-trend with a number of very significant hydrocarbon discoveries that have been made over years.

The permit was awarded to a joint venture led by Pancontinental in early 2018 for up to three terms over eight years, plus subsequent extensions, and may be converted to a production licence under pre-agreed terms.

The participants in the PEL 87 joint venture are Pancontinental Orange (operator with 75% interest, Custos Investments (15%), and National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) (10%). Sintana has a 7.4% indirect carried interest in PEL 87.

Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer of Sintana Energy, highlighted: “We are grateful to the Minister for the extension of PEL 87. We look forward to the continued refinement of the existing seismic work in anticipation of securing a farm in partner to progress the project to a focused drilling program.”