The Namibian portion of the Orange Sub-basin has recorded a 60% success rate for high-impact wells since 2022, well above the 16% average across other African frontier basins, according to the African Energy Chamber.
The chamber notes that 12 high-impact wells drilled in Namibia during this period resulted in discoveries, reflecting a technical success ratio of over 30%.
When considering the Orange Sub-basin alone, the success rate rises to around 60%, making it one of the continent’s most active exploration frontiers.
“In less than four years, just over six billion barrels of oil equivalent (Bboe) have been discovered in Namibia at a pace comparable to Guyana. TotalEnergies, Shell, Galp and Rhino Resources have all found success in this basin,” the African Energy Chamber’s State of the African Energy 2026 Outlook Report notes.
The chamber says Africa’s high-impact exploration continues to deliver significant discoveries, with 8.5Bboe found between 2021 and July 2025.
Of this total, about 7.4Bboe came from wells drilled in frontier or immature basins, with nearly 95% located in Namibia’s Orange Sub-basin and Côte d’Ivoire’s Tano Basin. It adds that early entrants into frontier or immature basins benefit from lower geological risk perception and often secure the most strategic acreage on favourable fiscal terms.