Namibia's Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy granted final ministerial approval on 1 October 2026 for Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas to transfer 60% of its participating interest, along with operatorship, in three offshore exploration licenses to BP Namibia Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of BP Exploration Operating Company. The approval is the last government consent required under Section 11 of Namibia's Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act to complete the farm-down.

The licenses changing hands

The deal covers three upstream exploration licenses in Namibia's Walvis Basin: Block 2012A under PEL97, known as the Cooper License; Blocks 2111B and 2211A under PEL99, the Guy License; and Blocks 2211B and 2311A under PEL100, the Tamar License. Eco is transferring the 60% interest and operatorship through its wholly owned subsidiaries Azinam Group Limited, Eco Oil & Gas Namibia (Proprietary) Limited and Eco Oil & Gas Services (Proprietary) Limited. The farm-down follows a Farmout Agreement that Eco first announced on 13 April 2026.

What's left to close

With ministerial sign-off secured, Eco and BP are now working through the remaining closing deliverables, and the company said completion is expected shortly. Eco said it will issue a further announcement once the transaction closes.

Why Eco is selling down

Eco said the farm-down lets the joint venture begin a comprehensive exploration work program while cutting the company's own funding exposure to the licenses, even as it keeps material upside exposure to them. The transaction also brings BP in as a major international operator to run exploration across the blocks. Eco plans to use the cash proceeds to fund exploration and appraisal work across its wider Atlantic Margin portfolio and for general working capital.

What Eco's CEO said

Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, called the approval "a significant milestone for Eco and brings us towards completing this landmark transaction." He thanked Namibia's president, the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy and its Upstream Petroleum Unit, and BP, NAMCOR and Eco's local partners, for what he called an efficient and collaborative approval process. Holzman said the company will "complete the remaining closing formalities as swiftly as possible" and start the next phase of exploration across the Walvis Basin licenses with BP, NAMCOR and its local partners. He added that with the South Africa and Namibia transactions now progressed, Eco's attention turns to finishing its PSA negotiations in Guyana and completing the JHI acquisition it announced earlier this year.