Eco Atlantic has entered right into a strategic partnership with Navitas Petroleum that would advance exploration throughout South Africa’s Orange basin and strengthen investor curiosity within the area’s rising offshore play. The settlement, signed Dec. 3, grants Navitas unique farm-in choices for Block 1 CBK offshore South Africa and the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana.
Underneath the phrases, Navitas has six months to train a $4 million choice to take operatorship and purchase as much as a 47.5% working curiosity in Block 1 CBK, the place Eco at present holds a 75% operated stake by way of subsidiary Azinam South Africa. Eco can be totally carried by way of the exploration program below a gross $15 million carry.
Block 1 CBK sits throughout the Orange basin, which has drawn heightened business consideration following latest discoveries offshore Namibia. Early-stage alternatives within the basin nonetheless require important technical and monetary commitments, and the partnership alerts renewed confidence within the space’s long-term potential.
The settlement additionally outlines attainable Navitas participation in Eco’s wider African portfolio, together with offshore Namibia’s PEL 97, 99 and 100 and South Africa’s Block 3B/4B. This might assist a extra coordinated method to exploration throughout a number of frontier licenses.
Regional business teams say elevated upstream exercise may assist South Africa pursue vitality safety objectives, scale back reliance on imports and increase home provide. The partnership construction, which incorporates carried pursuits for Eco, displays a rising pattern of financing frameworks designed to assist smaller independents in high-impact drilling packages.
“This partnership is a robust vote of confidence in South Africa’s upstream potential,” mentioned NJ Ayuk, Govt Chairman of the African Vitality Chamber (AEC). “Eco Atlantic has been a dedicated explorer for greater than a decade, and Navitas brings technical excellence and monetary capability that may speed up drilling and unlock long-awaited exploration exercise. That is precisely the kind of collaboration Africa wants – daring, well-funded, and centered on execution.”
Eco Atlantic and Navitas plan to advance technical work forward of potential drilling choices, with regulatory approvals nonetheless required.