Pancontinental Energy Ups Prospective Oil Resource Estimate at Namibia’s Oryx Prospect to 2.5 Billion Barrels
Pancontinental Energy NL has significantly upgraded its prospective oil resource estimates at the Oryx prospect, located within Petroleum Exploration Licence 87 (PEL 87) offshore Namibia, following improved seismic analysis. The updated High Case (3U) estimate now exceeds 2.5 billion barrels (100% gross).
This revision comes after the company completed a new Quantitative Interpretation (QI) of seismic data in the Orange Basin, where Pancontinental holds exploration rights.
The updated estimate is underpinned by a refined net-to-gross ratio and enhanced geological understanding.
As a result, the Geological Chance of Success (GCoS) at Oryx has been raised from 22.5% to 26.2%.
“The Pancontinental technical team continues to deliver, such that we are now able to pinpoint a single well location at the Oryx prospect that offers oil potential at three discrete intervals for a combined 2.5 billion barrels of High Case prospective resource,” said CEO Iain Smith. “This is supported by an upgraded GCoS of 26.2%.”
The improved seismic interpretation has allowed Pancontinental to consolidate what were previously considered the Calypso and Addax Channel leads into the larger Oryx prospect.
Resource Estimates (Net to Pancontinental):
Best Case (2U): 815 million barrels
High Case (3U): Approximately 1.9 billion barrels
Pancontinental has also revised upward the Best Case resource estimates for the nearby Hyrax prospect. However, no changes were made to the Addax Fan or Addax South prospects.
In addition to the Oryx update, the company has identified a new prospective feature, Phoebe West. This target is interpreted as a basin-floor turbidite fan, likely fed by a northern channel system. Technical evaluation of the structure is ongoing.
PEL 87 spans 10,970 square kilometres in Namibia’s Orange Basin and lies along trend with major discoveries made by TotalEnergies, Shell, and Galp.
Pancontinental has held the licence since 2018 and is currently in the first renewal phase. The current work program mandates the drilling of at least one exploration well or the acquisition of new seismic data by January 2026.
