Namibia's revival

The majors are starting to take strategic offshore positions

A lack of commercial discoveries and 2014's oil price crash collapse meant that Namibia's elevation to an African frontier hotspot, following promising drilling results, was short-lived. But the country's upstream is finally gaining attention again from the majors and new drilling is planned for later this year. ExxonMobil is the latest heavy hitter to expand its position in Namibia. At the end of January, Portugal's Galp announced that it was in the process of farming-down its Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 82 in Namibia's Walvis basin to the supermajor, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal would leave both companies with a 40% stake in the licence, with Galp retaining operatorshi