Austrian energy company OMV said Thursday it expanded its African footprint by joining an offshore exploration project in Namibia.
"OMV is well on track to position its assets into more high-return upstream projects," OMV Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Roiss said in a statement. "Therefore it is part of OMV’s strategy to build up new exploration opportunities also in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa."
The Austrian company said it's entering Namibia through the acquisition of a 65 percent stake from Brazilian company Cowan Petroleum through a partnership with Murphy Luderitz Oil Co. for an undisclosed sum.
Murphy, through a partnership with OMV, serves as the operator in a program to use seismic surveys to get a better understanding of the reserves off the coast of Namibia. Surveys are slated to begin later this year.
The two reserve areas offshore encompass a total area of 4,200 square miles. OMV provided no estimate of the reserve potential.
Namibia is considered frontier territory. Basins north of the country off the coast of Ghana are very rich in oil.
