Portuguese oil company Galp Energia has completed the initial exploration phase in the Mopane field off Namibia’s coast, revealing promising estimates of up to 10 billion barrels of oil.

Through testing operations at the Mopane-1X and Mopane-2X wells, the company identified substantial light oil columns within high-quality reservoir sands, positioned roughly 8 kilometers apart.

Located in the Orange Basin, the Mopane field has shown flow rates reaching the maximum limit of 14,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) during testing.

“In the Mopane complex alone, and before drilling additional exploration and appraisal wells, hydrocarbon in-place estimates are 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or higher”, Galp said.

Galp holds an 80% stake in the Petroleum Exploration License 83 (PEL 83), covering a vast area of nearly 10,000 square kilometers in the Orange Basin.

According to Reuters, Galp has indicated at the possibility of attracting additional investors to its Namibian projects to enhance scalability.

The OPEC+ oil producers’ group, having lost Angola and other players in recent years, is eyeing Namibia for possible membership as it sets up what could be Africa’s fourth-largest output by the next decade, an African industry official told Reuters.