ReconAfrica and its joint venture partners, the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) and BW Energy, will, within the coming months, assess the production capacity and then the commercial viability of their oil and gas discovery in the Kavango region.
That assessment will determine the next steps for the recent discovery that marks one of the most significant public confirmations of possible oil-bearing formations in the Kavango Basin to date, adding to already confirmed offshore discoveries made recently.
The partners last week confirmed successful oil and gas results from their Kavango West 1X exploration well, located on Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 73, onshore Namibia.
In a report, the consortium stated they encountered a gross hydrocarbon section of approximately 400 metres within the Otavi carbonate formation.
When briefing President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House last week, ReconAfrica president and CEO Brian Reinsborough, said the discovery was made only weeks ago.
We just finished drilling that well a couple of weeks ago, and we have a discovery of hydrocarbons,” he said.
He added that although further work is still needed to determine scale and viability, the early signs are encouraging.
“It’s early days, but we like what we see in this particular well.”
“Our plans on this location will be to come back in a few months and do a production test on it to see how much oil and gas we can produce from this accumulation,” Reinsborough explained.
“Our commitment is to take our next steps to praise this discovery. We want to conduct a production test in the first quarter.
The results of that will dictate our next steps. We would like to drill another well after that, potentially shoot some seismic, and hopefully be at a commercial decision point by the end of next year,” he clarified.
In a statement issued on Friday, Namcor, Recon and BW stated that 64 net metres of hydrocarbon pay were confirmed by wireline logs and mud log analysis. In addition, 61 metres of further hydrocarbon shows were identified in deeper sections where natural fractures in the limestone reservoir are interpreted to enhance hydrocarbon deliverability.
“ReconAfrica, the operator of PEL 73, completed drilling operations on 29 November 2025, reaching a total depth of 4 200 metres. The well has been temporarily suspended and will be re-entered in the first quarter of 2026 for a production test to determine flow rates and reservoir performance. This promising result represents another critical milestone in Namibia’s emerging oil and gas story, demonstrating the vast potential of the Damara Fold Belt play and reinforcing confidence in Namibia’s onshore petroleum systems,” Namcor stated.
Namcor acting managing director, Maureen Hinda, commented: “We are encouraged by the results from the 1X well and what this represents for Namibia’s oil and gas future. Each discovery brings us closer to realising our vision of harnessing our natural resources responsibly to drive national development and energy security. Namcor’s partnership with ReconAfrica and BW Energy continues to demonstrate the value of collaboration between international expertise and local commitment. We remain steadfast in ensuring that Namibians benefit meaningfully from the growth of our petroleum sector through skills transfer, employment, and local participation.”
Meanwhile, President Nandi-Ndaitwah last week welcomed an update on the most recent discovery and highlighted the importance of cooperation between government, State-Owned Enterprises and private companies as Namibia builds an inclusive energy sector.
“I really want the public and the private sector to work as a team to address any challenges,” the President said, noting the national priority placed on youth employment and economic growth.