Doha: QatarEnergy announced an oil discovery with encouraging results from the Merlin-1X exploration well in the Petroleum Exploration License 39 (PEL 0039), offshore Namibia.

According to Qatar News Agency, Merlin-1X is the tenth well drilled under the license, delivering the most promising subsurface results to date, with good reservoir quality, light oil, and limited associated gas.

Commenting on the discovery, HE Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, expressed satisfaction, highlighting that this discovery follows three earlier ones in Namibia. These results are seen as a significant step that further strengthens confidence in the Orange Basin as an emerging world-class hydrocarbon province and aligns with QatarEnergy's strategy to expand its international upstream portfolio through high-impact exploration.

HE Minister Saad Sherida Al Kaabi further expressed appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Namibia for its continued support of this exploration effort and congratulated partners, Shell and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, on this achievement.

QatarEnergy holds interests in four offshore exploration licenses in Namibia: PEL 0039 (45 percent), PEL 0056 (35.25 percent), PEL 0091 (33.03 percent), and PEL 0090 (27.5 percent) - collectively covering approximately 34,000 square kilometers.