In May 2025, Africa Oil announced a change of name to Meren Energy Inc. The Company’s rebranding follows completion of the transformative Prime consolidation, doubling reserves and production in high quality offshore assets that benefit from low lifting costs, premium Brent pricing and a favourable fiscal regime.

Meren is a leading independent, full-cycle E&P with production and development assets in deepwater Nigeria, a leading carried position in the Orange Basin across Namibia and South Africa, and operated licences in Equatorial Guinea.

The Company is focused on delivering a total shareholder return business model through sustainable growth and capital returns to its shareholders and for the benefit of all its stakeholders. During 2023 and 2024, the Company executed a number of strategic transactions to simplify and strengthen the Company’s fundamental business proposition including streamlined asset ownership and greater control of its core assets and value drivers. These efforts culminated in the completion of the amalgamation in March 2025 to consolidate full control and ownership of Prime Oil & Gas Coöperatief U.A (Prime) in Meren.

OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS

NAMIBIA

Block 2912 & 2913B

Meren Energy holds an indirect interest in Namibia's offshore oil and gas industry through its 39.5 percent shareholding in Impact Oil & Gas, which in turn owns a 9.5 percent carried stake in Blocks 2912 and 2913B in the Orange Basin. Block 2913B hosts the major Venus light‑oil and associated gas discovery, first encountered by the Venus‑1X well in 2022 in Lower Cretaceous sandstone, and further appraised via side‑track and additional wells through 2023, all delivering strong test results that underpin ongoing development plans.

Development plans for Venus envisage tying up to 40 subsea wells to a 160,000 barrel‑per‑day FPSO, with engineering design proceeding and environmental approvals being sought ahead of a targeted Final Investment Decision (FID) in the first half of 2026. Production is expected by around 2030. The economics hinge on maintaining development costs under $20 per barrel, a threshold emphasized by TotalEnergies’ leadership to ensure project viability given the deepwater environment (~3,000 m water depth) and high gas‑oil ratio.

Exploration beyond Venus continues. In early 2025, Impact reported that the Tamboti‑1X well encountered oil in Upper Cretaceous sandstones in the Mangetti fan system, and drilling of Marula‑1X in the Marula fan complex began soon afterward. Tamboti‑1X delivered oil-bearing reservoirs within a substantial net interval and testing data is under detailed evaluation, while Marula‑1X was drilled to ~6,460 m but did not encounter hydrocarbons in its primary objective, prompting further analysis of the findings.

Meren’s exposure remains financed and carried through the development phase, meaning Impact retains its interest without capital contribution—an important financial structure that removes immediate upward capital demands on Australia Oil’s balance sheet before first oil.

There are broader regional influences shaping operations in the Orange Basin. Other players like Galp, Chevron, Woodside and Shell are pursuing exploration across adjacent blocks (such as PEL 83, 87, 90) from late 2023 into 2024, using deepwater rigs staging through the port at Walvis Bay, signalling growing basin-wide activity and investment.

NIGERIA

PML 2, PML 3, PML 4 and PML 52

Meren Energy gained direct access to high‑quality offshore Nigerian production through its March 2025 consolidation of Prime Oil & Gas Coöperatief U.A., transforming its asset base and scope of operations. As a result of this restructuring, the company now holds an effective working interest of roughly 8 percent in PML 52 and about 32 percent across PMLs 2, 3 and 4, which include the producing Agbami, Akpo and Egina fields, as well as PPL 261, all operated by affiliates of either TotalEnergies or Chevron in deepwater Nigeria.

Production from these assets accounts for three of Nigeria’s top five deepwater oil fields. The Akpo West tie‑back project started up in early 2024 and contributed an additional 14,000 barrels per day of condensate, enhancing the field’s output. Egina, located around 150 km offshore at water depths of roughly 1,150–1,750 meters, continues delivering light to medium sweet crude, while Agbami—offshore entirely within PML 52—has exceeded production expectations and experienced lower decline rates than forecast, supported by reinjection of associated gas.

In early 2025, two new producer wells were drilled at Egina during the first quarter, expected to come online by the second quarter. At Akpo, a development well and well intervention were scheduled for Q2 2025, followed by a planned pause in drilling around Q4 to allow for interpretation of 4D seismic and reviewed well data before planning future infill drilling. Preparations are already underway to evaluate further infill drilling at Agbami in anticipation of a campaign around mid‑2026, supported by recent seismic acquisition and processing.

Meren’s operations in Nigeria generate robust cash flow thanks to low lifting costs, premium pricing of produced crude and a favourable fiscal environment. As a result of the Prime consolidation, the company doubled its reserves and production, enabling a substantial increase in its base annual dividend to US $100 million and a commitment to distribute at least half of its excess free cash flow through supplementary dividends or share repurchases. Meren projects approximately US $350 million in cash flow for 2025 against a capital investment program of around US $170 million.

In addition to maintaining production, the company is advancing exploration and infrastructure-led drilling prospects. One notable opportunity is the Akpo Far East prospect, which analysts estimate may hold up to ~144 million barrels of oil equivalent in light, gas‑prone reservoirs analogous to those in the Akpo field. Should drilling confirm commercial volumes, this prospect could be tied into existing facilities, offering near-term upside with lower cycle time and cost.

Through its sector restructuring and upgraded asset base, Meren Energy has effectively repositioned itself as a cashflow‑driven, full‑cycle independent E&P with a commanding presence in Nigeria’s offshore deepwater sector, balancing current production with near‑term development potential and disciplined capital allocation strategies.

Equatorial Guinea

Blocks EG-18 and EG-31

Meren Energy holds a strategic position in Equatorial Guinea’s offshore frontier through two operated production-sharing contracts, EG‑18 and EG‑31. These licenses were awarded in February 2023 to its wholly owned subsidiaries, Africa Oil Alpha B.V. and Africa Oil Beta B.V., granting Meren an 80 percent working interest in each block, with the national oil company GEPetrol holding the remaining stake (and the option to acquire up to 15 percent during exploration). GEPetrol remains carried through the exploration phase. 

In Block EG‑31, Meren has identified several gas‑prone shallow‑water targets—lying at depths under 80 meters and located near existing infrastructure such as Chevron’s Alba gas field and the onshore Punta Europa LNG terminal—suggesting potential for early tie‑in opportunities. EG‑18 is characterised by a potentially large basin‑floor fan prospect of Cretaceous age, geologically analogous to similar plays in its Namibian and South African portfolio, and remains in the initial technical evaluation phase.

Meren is actively seeking farm‑in partners and aims to secure joint‑venture participation by the end of Q3 2025. Subject to standard consents and regulatory approvals, the company anticipates that exploration drilling could be scheduled in late 2026 or during 2027, but does not plan to proceed on a sole‑risk basis if a farm‑down is not achieved under acceptable terms.

Should drilling confirm commercial resources—particularly gas close to infrastructure—EG‑31 offers the possibility of rapid development via subsea tie‑backs to existing Chevron facilities (e.g. Alba gas field and Punta Europa LNG plant). Similarly, EG‑18’s prospect requires further technical work to define reservoir potential with possible parallels to nearby basin fans in the region’s geology.

While Meren currently holds no producing assets in Equatorial Guinea, its operated interest and proximity to existing export and processing infrastructure position it to deliver upside if carried exploration progresses successfully.

South Africa

Meren Energy holds a non‑operated interest in offshore South Africa through Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin, where it maintains an approximately 18 percent participating interest following a two‑phase farm‑down process completed in 2024 and 2025. Originally operated under its subsidiary Meren SA Energy Corp. (formerly Africa Oil SA Corp.), the company transferred operatorship to TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy in exchange for carried exploration funding valued at up to USD 46.8 million, enabling financing for up to two exploration wells.

Block 3B/4B covers some 17,581 km² off South Africa’s west coast, situated approximately 120–220 km from shore with water depths spanning roughly 300–2,500 m. Seismic coverage includes around 14,000 km of 2D and about 10,800 km² of 3D data, supporting a prospect inventory with unrisked gross prospective resources estimated at roughly 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Environmental approval was granted by South African authorities to support drilling of up to five exploration wells, and the permitting process—including public notification and appeals—was ongoing as of late 2024. Should approval proceed, the operator plans to drill the first exploration well in 2026, targeting a prospect known as Nayla in the north‑west portion of the block.

Though Meren holds no producing assets in South Africa, the company benefits from its carried interest—eliminating near-term capital burdens—and exposure to a frontier region trending into exploration activity after significant discoveries in nearby Namibian waters, including the Venus field. Meren’s interest is held indirectly through Impact Oil & Gas, in which Meren owns a 39.5 percent stake that translates to a 22 percent working interest in the broader Orange Basin Deep licence area.

LEADERSHIP / CONTACT

Huw Jenkins, Chairman of the Board
Roger Tucker, President, CEO and Director
Aldo Perracini, Chief Financial Officer
Joanna Kay, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Oliver Quinn, Chief Commercial Officer
Craig Knight, Chief Operating Officer

Meren Energy Inc.
c/o Suite 2500, 666 Burrard Street, Vancouver B.C. Canada V6C 2X8

Meren Services Limited
50 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5JH

t. +44 20 8017 1511
e. info@mereninc.com