Rhino Resources 3D Seismic Survey in PEL0085/Block 2914A, offshore southern Namibia

Rhino Resources Namibia Ltd (Rhino) and its Joint Venture (JV) partners, Azule Energy Exploration Angola Limited, NAMCOR and Korres Investments (Pty) Ltd, are the joint holders of a Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL0085) over Block 2914A, located off the southern coast of Namibia. The Block covers an area of 5 338 square kilometres in extent and is located ~148 km from Oranjemund and ~260 km from Lüderitz, in water depths ranging from 200 m to 1 800 m.

Based on the exploration results to date, Rhino and its JV partners are proposing to undertake 3D seismic surveying activities across PEL0085/Block 2914A. The proposed survey area will extend beyond the Block boundary. Up to 8 seismic campaigns are proposed from 2026/27 to 2029/30, with each campaign being~2.5 to 3 months in duration.

The proposed project triggers several listed activities in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations 2012, and as such requires an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) before these activities can commence. As part of this process, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) must be undertaken. SLR Environmental Consulting (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd (SLR) has been appointed as the independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to manage the ECC application and to undertake the ESIA process.

Status

An ESIA process has been initiated for the proposed project. An application for an ECC has been submitted to the Competent Authority (Ministry of Industries, Mines, and Energy) and registered on the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism’s (MEFT) online application portal.

A Background Information Document (BID) which provides preliminary information on the Project and scope of assessment, was compiled and shared with registered stakeholders for review and comment. The BID (in English and Afrikaans) is available for download below.

SLR has now compiled a Draft ESIA Scoping Report, which will be available for a 30-day review and comment period from 15 June to 15 July 2026. This document and a Non-technical Summary (in English and Afrikaans) will be available for download below.

Additionally, we cordially invite all stakeholders to attend the public meetings – please refer to the notification letters below for the meeting details. The objectives of these public meetings are to provide an overview of the project proposal and findings of the ESIA process, as well as provide stakeholders a further opportunity to comment. The meetings will comprise a presentation followed by a Question & Answer session.

For issues and/or comments to be included in the Final ESIA Scoping Report, these should be forwarded to SLR by no later than 15 July 2026.