Portuegese Galp’s efforts to offload part of its stake in Namibia’s Mopane oil project have finally attracted heavyweight interest.
Industry sources report that Chevron and TotalEnergies have emerged as frontrunners among potential buyers, marking a turning point in a sale process that had stalled for months.
The Portuguese energy company is in advanced negotiations to divest up to 40% of its holding in Mopane.
Several bidders have been shortlisted, with Galp expected to announce its decision before the end of the year.
Namibia’s Mopane field is one of the country’s most significant recent oil discoveries, estimated to hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil and positioning Namibia as a potential new global energy frontier.
The field lies offshore Namibia in the Orange Basin, about 250 km from Lüderitz, in waters roughly 2,500 meters deep.
It is operated by Galp Energia, which holds an 80% interest. The remaining stakes are split between Namcor (Namibia’s state oil company) and Custos Energy, each with 10%.
Why Galp wants to sale some stakes
Galp launched the sale in early 2025 to share the steep costs of developing the deepwater project after reporting a notable drop in its adjusted core profit in the first quarter of 2025.
Initial attempts drew little traction, as investors hesitated over uncertainties ranging from unconfirmed resource volumes to the project’s high gas content, which is more challenging to commercialize.
Development in ultra-deepwater environments is typically capital-intensive, worsened by Namibia’s tight local participation and operational control requirements.
Analysts also flagged regulatory hurdles, including stricter local content rules and questions over operational control.
Why is Big Oil interested in Mopane?
Despite these concerns, Mopane is widely regarded as one of Namibia’s most significant oil discoveries since 2022.
Galp confirmed the presence of a large petroleum system in May 2024, adding momentum to a wave of exploration success in the country following major finds by TotalEnergies and Shell.
The asset offers Big Oil a rare chance to secure early access to a new frontier with massive growth potential and long-term reserves.
A number of discoveries have been carried out on the Mopane field including:
- Mopane-1X well (2023–2024): First drilling intersected substantial light-oil columns in Lower Cretaceous sandstones, confirming hydrocarbons in high-quality reservoir rock.
- Mopane-2X well (2024): Drilled 8 km away, it confirmed lateral continuity of the oil-bearing formations, strengthening confidence in the scale of the discovery.
- Further appraisal wells (2025): Galp reported modest success in Mopane-2A, encountering both gas-condensate and light oil in new reservoirs, with good porosity and permeability
Despite these discoveries, questions have remained about their commercial viability, especially as a significant share of hydrocarbons is gas, which is harder to monetize compared to oil.
Prior to Chevron and TotalEnergies, other major operators like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Petrobras had shown earlier interest in the asset.
TotalEnergies currently operates Namibia’s Venus block in the Orange Basin that it discovered in February 2022. It plans to take an FID in the fourth quarter of 2026.
However, Namibia’s state-owned Namcor has said that progress on Mopane and other offshore projects could open the door to commercial oil production within the next few years.
Namibia currently has no commercial oil production, but Mopane and other discoveries (like TotalEnergies’ Venus and Shell’s Graff) could transform it into a top-15 global producer within the next decade.
