A $2.7M Deal: BP Takes Control of Three Namibia Offshore Licences

Namibia has approved the transfer of a 60% participating interest in three offshore petroleum licences from Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas to BP, clearing the final government consent needed before the transaction closes.

Eco said the approval was granted on 1 October 2026 by Namibia’s Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy. BP Namibia Energy will become operator of the Cooper, Guy and Tamar licences in the Walvis Basin once the remaining closing requirements are completed.

Eco will receive a one-off US$2.7M payment and retain a 25% interest in each licence. BP will also carry Eco’s retained interest during the current exploration phase, reducing the smaller explorer’s immediate funding burden while keeping it exposed to any future discovery.

What is changing?

The transaction covers PEL97, PEL99 and PEL100 offshore Namibia. Eco previously held an 85% working interest in the three licences and will reduce that position to 25% when the farm-down is completed. Namibia’s national oil company NAMCOR and local partners retain their interests.

BP’s entry gives the three licences a major international operator and moves the joint venture towards a new exploration programme. Eco said the parties are now completing the remaining closing deliverables and that completion is expected shortly.

The approved programme includes seismic reprocessing on PEL97 and the acquisition of at least 3,000 square kilometres of new 3D seismic data across PEL99 and PEL100.

Why does Eco want the deal?

For Eco, the transaction changes the cost of participating in exploration. The company gives up majority control but retains a quarter of each licence while BP carries its retained interest during the current exploration phase.

Eco said the cash proceeds will support exploration and appraisal activities across its wider Atlantic Margin portfolio and general working capital. The structure therefore gives the company cash and lower near-term funding exposure without removing its interest in the Namibian assets.

The deal also leaves open a potential future transaction. If the partners enter the second renewal period in 2028 and commit to drilling an exploration well, Eco has an option to transfer another 10% interest to BP in exchange for a full carry on its remaining 15% interest, subject to a US$21M cap per well on each licence.

What does BP gain?

BP gets operatorship and a 60% interest in three offshore exploration licences in the Walvis Basin. The move gives the global energy company a stronger operating position in a basin that has attracted major international exploration interest.

For Namibia, the transaction brings a major international operator into another stage of offshore exploration and commits the joint venture to additional seismic work. Any commercial discovery remains unproven, so the immediate development is the shift in ownership, operatorship and funding responsibility rather than confirmed production.

The transaction is therefore more significant as an exploration and capital-allocation decision than as an immediate change to Namibia’s oil output. The next milestones are completion of the deal, the seismic programme and any decision on future drilling.