Pancontinental Energy (ASX:PCL) has secured a 12-month extension for its PEL 87 offshore license from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, allowing exploration activities in Namibia to continue until January 2027, the company announced on March 18.
The extension safeguards tenure over its key asset in the Orange Basin and is conditional on fulfilling a series of work commitments, including completion of an environmental impact assessment, reprocessing of existing 3D seismic data, and drilling of at least one exploration well.
The EIA has been underway since mid-2025, while seismic work aims to enhance subsurface imaging in priority zones. Pancontinental emphasised that securing a farm-in partner remains critical to advancing drilling plans due to the high costs associated with deepwater exploration.
Previous negotiations, including discussions with Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS), failed to conclude before a May 2025 deadline, leaving the company and its joint venture partners—Custos Investments and NAMCOR—to continue seeking external funding.
The PEL 87 block spans approximately 10,970 square kilometers and contains multiple identified prospects such as Oryx, Hyrax, and Northern Channel, with estimated prospective resources reaching up to 6.1 billion barrels net to the company.
At the time of reporting, Pancontinental Energy's share price was $0.010.