E&P

With partners QatarEnergy and NAMCOR, Shell has found promising exploration results from its Merlin-1X exploration well in Petroleum Exploration Licence No. 0039 (PEL 0039), offshore Namibia

This pushes forward its evaluation of the Orange Basin block with the well successfully penetrating the Coniacian play. Delivering the most promising subsurface results to date in PEL 0039, it indicated good reservoir quality with light oil and limited associated gas, compared to prior results within the licence.

The Merlin-1X well, spudded on 8 April 2026, is the tenth well drilled in the licence, which is operated by Shell. 

The results enhance Shell’s understanding of the basin and support continued evaluation of the resource and its commercial potential across the licence. Further drilling later in 2026 is under consideration as part of a broader exploratory appraisal programme.

Eugene Okpere, Shell’s Executive Vice President for Exploration, Strategy and Portfolio, said, “These are encouraging results that add to our understanding of the Orange Basin potential. We are progressing this opportunity through a disciplined, data-led approach to establish commerciality, focusing our investment on options that are material, competitive and resilient within our portfolio. This is built on strong partnership and alignment, and I thank the Government of the Republic of Namibia, our partners and all teams involved.”

Energy and data intelloigence provider, TGS, has been awarded a streamer acquisition contract in the Africa & Middle East region.

A 3D Ramform vessel is scheduled to commence acquisition in early September 2026, and the contract has a duration of approximately 55 days.

Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS, said, "I am very pleased with this contract award, which builds visibility into the winter season. Our Ramform acquisition platform, combined with the proprietary GeoStreamer technology will provide the client with high quality data that enables more accurate and informed decision-making in their oil and gas exploration activities.”

Previously, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has partnered with TGS and SeaSeis Geophysical Limited to announce the Nigeria Laide multi-client 3D survey, which focuses within the outer fold and thrust belt of the deepwater eastern Niger Delta. This area is marked with complex geological challenges such as stacked toe-thrust structures, elongate anticlines (e.g. Bolia–Chota), inner fold-and-thrust-belt geometries, and shale diapirs/mud volcanoes. 

These are addressed with the help of GeoStreamer dual-sensor system, long offsets, wide tow, and a triple-source configuration that are capable of generating modern broadband seismic data to support full-integrity PSTM and Q-PSDM through advanced Elastic FWI-driven velocity model building. This makes it easy for operators and explorers to finalise the next steps based on precisely acquired insights from otherwise inaccessible and challenging zones. 

Vaalco Energy has brought back online the Baobab field on CI-40 block offshore Ivory Coast following the refurbishment of Baobab Ivoirien Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel

This comes following a nine-month refurbishment in Dubai, as the FPSO returned to Côte d’Ivoire in early Q2 2026, was moored into position and re-connected to the field infrastructure.

Production has resumed from four producing wells with the remaining three producers expected to come online shortly; the field is performing in line with Vaalco’s expectations.

FPSO refurbishment was undertaken to extend the life of the vessel and to ensure its long-term operational capacity as a significant development drilling program at Baobab is planned to begin in the second half of 2026; and Phase 5 drilling programme is expected to include four producers, two to three injectors and two workovers providing potential meaningful additions to production from the main Baobab field.

George Maxwell, Vaalco’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are excited that the Baobab field on the CI-40 block offshore Côte d’Ivoire has restarted production in line with our projected timeline. We have the CI-40 block license extended through 2038 and believe that there is significant development drilling upside at Baobab. In early 2024, we had no assets in Côte d’Ivoire and now we have developed a strong position with development and exploration potential. We are at a critical junction, with successes in the Gabon drilling campaign and the Baobab field returning to production, and we believe that the remainder of 2026 will be very impactful. We remain focused on execution and driving meaningful growth through our organic capital programs that we believe will translate into value for our shareholders in 2026 and beyond.” 

Advanced drilling technologies facilitate new Egypt discovery.

The drilling of an offshore exploration well from onshore using advanced directional drilling technologies has resulted in a new gas discovery offshore Egypt

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced a new natural gas discovery in the Nile Delta region, with estimated production rates of around 50 Mmcf/d. The discovery follows the successful drilling of the exploratory well (Nidoco N-2) within the West Madi concession area, operated by Italy's Eni in partnership with the UK's bp and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, through Petrobel, the joint company between EGPC and Eni.

 Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, visited the EDC-56 drilling rig, which executed the well operations in the West Abu Madi area in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. The well is located approximately 3 km offshore in shallow waters with a depth of around 10 m. The well was drilled from onshore using state-of-the-art directional drilling technologies, contributing to cost optimisation and enhanced operational efficiency.

This is in line with the government’s focus on bringing in and localising modern technologies that contribute to increasing petroleum and gas productivity while reducing time and cost, in co-operation with leading service companies, drilling and technology solution providers, and production partners. The Minister in February announced that the petroleum sector is accelerating the implementation of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, which enable access to oil and gas resources that are difficult to exploit through conventional methods, with the aim of increasing oil and gas production rates within the sector's five-year plan.

The Minister said that this discovery, alongside increased production from existing fields, reflects the Petroleum Sector's success in settling dues owed to foreign partners, with full clearance targeted by the end of June, highlighting the state's commitment to strengthening partner confidence and fostering an attractive investment environment. He added that the regular settlement of dues has encouraged partners to intensify upstream activities, increase drilling and production rates, and expand the development of mature fields by extending agreement periods that helped attract new investments to these areas.

Situated less than 2 km away from the nearest production facilities, the well's proximity to existing infrastructure enables rapid connection to the network within the coming weeks and the start of early production, enhancing capital efficiency.

The Minister also noted that the discovery represents a model for maximising the utilisation of existing infrastructure, increasing production rates, and supporting gas supply to the domestic market. It also highlights Eni's continued success in exploration and production activities across its concession areas.

The new discovery follows Eni’s gas and condensate discovery in the Temsah concession in the Eastern Mediterranean in April, with preliminary estimates of about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 130 million barrels of associated condensates. The Denise W discovery lies 70 km offshore in 95 m of water depth and less than 10 km from existing infrastructure, offering potential for a fast-track development.

The Egyptian government is encouraging investment and incentivising exploration and production to reverse years of decline and reduce energy imports, a drive which is being given additional impetus by the current situation in the Middle East. These efforts seem to be paying off, with a number of promising discoveries being made recently.