BP Pursues Namibia Crude Amid No Known Discovery of Oil: Energy

BP Plc’s push into Namibian oil makes it the only major producer expanding in the West African nation, where commercial crude deposits have never been found and the sole gas field has sat idle since its discovery in 1974.

BP last month became the largest shareholder in a block covering Namibia’s Nimrod offshore prospect, which may yield the third-biggest discovery of 2012, according to Morgan Stanley. A week earlier, the oil producer said it would buy into Serica Energy Plc’s licenses in the country.