Global Petroleum moves onto next phase at Namibia licence

Global Petroleum announced on Tuesday that, in relation to its licence PEL0094, offshore Namibia, the country’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has agreed to its proposal to enter into the next licence sub-period from September 2021 to September 2022.

The AIM-traded firm said that under the terms of the petroleum agreement for PEL0094, signed in September 2018, the four-year initial exploration period was split into two sub-periods of two years each, with the first sub-period ending in September 2020.

That was subsequently extended to September 2021, with a reduced work programme.

Global said it further expected to apply for a one-year extension to the four-year initial exploration period at the appropriate time, with the board noting that such extensions were “commonly granted” by the ministry.

The company’s work commitment for the upcoming phase of the licence was to acquire and process 2,000 square kilometres of 3D seismic data - a commitment which Global said it expected to fulfil via a farm-out.

It said the new 3D seismic data would increase the chance of success of the Marula prospect, and confirm the prospective resources in the eastern part of the licence, which it announced on 26 January.

“We would like to thank the Ministry of Mines and Energy and are delighted to move into the next licence phase on PEL0094, and to progressing work on what we believe is a highly prospective licence,” said chief executive officer Peter Hill.

“The next few months are clearly the most exciting period in several years for petroleum exploration offshore Namibia, notably with Total's upcoming Venus well, followed by the Shell well in PEL 0039.”

At 1204 BST, shares in Global Petroleum were down 2.17% at 0.68p.