Canadian oil and gas exploration and production company Africa Oil has increased its shareholding in Africa-focused independent explorer Impact Oil and Gas to 39.5%, the company said in a statement on November 21.

Under a call-and-put option agreement announced in August, Africa Oil completed the purchase of an additional interest of approximately 7.0% in Impact, a UK-based privately owned company with exploration and appraisal assets in Namibia’s Orange Basin.

According to the statement, the company has acquired an additional 80,160,198 shares in Impact at an exercise price of £0.57 per share for a payment at completion of £45.7mn ($60.4mn). An option purchase cost of £6.4mn ($8.4mn) was paid during Q3 2024. Africa Oil now holds 449,464,396 shares in Impact representing a shareholding position of approximately 39.5% on a fully diluted basis.

“With this purchase we have achieved a key strategic objective of materially increasing Africa Oil's ownership in Impact, enhancing our rights and influence over a core strategic asset and value driver for the company,” Africa Oil CEO Roger Tucker said. “We have greater exposure to an exciting opportunity set in Namibia’s Orange Basin, including the Venus oil development, and a highly prospective exploration programme on Blocks 2912 and 2913B including the Tamboti exploration well that is currently drilling.”

Africa Oil’s investment in Impact is part of its strategy to become the leading independent exploration and production company in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia and South Africa. The prolific Venus oil discovery in February 2022 by TotalEnergies in Namibia, which could produce 250,000 barrels per day (bpd), is one of the assets that Africa Oil has exposure to through its shareholding in Impact.

In a previous statement on November 13 with published financial and operating results for Q3 2024, Africa Oil updated the market on its appraisal and exploration campaign offshore Namibia. According to the statement, Impact has a 9.5% Working Interest in each of Block 2913B (PEL 56) and Block 2912 (PEL 91) located within the northern part of the Orange Basin.

The adjacent blocks cover approximately 16,000 square kilometres in the highly prospective area that has garnered significant interest from international exploration companies owing to promising hydrocarbon discoveries like the Venus prospect.

“On October 20, 2024, the DeepSea Mira spud the Tamboti-1X well, targeting significant additional resource in the north of Block 2913B,” the statement said. “Beyond Tambotti-1X, there are a number of prospects in the southern part of the Blocks that are currently being matured by the recent 3D seismic data and create an opportunity for follow-on potential high-impact exploration wells.”

Africa Oil also has producing and development assets in deepwater Nigeria and an exploration/appraisal portfolio in the west and south of Africa. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm.