Namibia’s Ministry of Industries, Mines, and Energy has formally approved the farm-out of the offshore PEL96 license from Tower Resources to Prime Global Energies. The approval, confirmed through an official letter to the AIM-listed explorer, clears the sole remaining condition precedent under the farm-out contract first announced on January 10, 2025.
MIME issues formal approval for PEL96 farmout
The letter from Namibia’s Ministry of Industries, Mines, and Energy is more than a procedural formality. It closes the last open condition in a farm-out contract that Tower Resources announced on January 10, 2025, and positions both parties to begin a new phase of activity on the offshore block.
Tower Resources Chairman and CEO Jeremy Asher acknowledged the milestone directly, thanking personnel at MIME, the Upstream Petroleum Unit, and state oil company NAMCOR for what he described as their “diligent review and continued engagement throughout this process.” With the letter now issued, both parties can move toward completing the transaction.
Why the approval was required
Farm-out agreements in Namibia do not take effect automatically. Ministerial sign-off is a legal requirement before any license interest can transfer between parties—making MIME’s approval a statutory prerequisite, not a discretionary step.
When Tower Resources and Prime Global Energies signed their farm-out contract in January 2025, this regulatory clearance was included as an explicit condition precedent. Neither party was fully bound to complete the deal until MIME issued its formal consent. The Upstream Petroleum Unit handled technical scrutiny, and NAMCOR was also involved. Asher’s public thanks to those teams suggests the review required sustained engagement rather than anything routine.
Next steps: Completion notice and deed of assignment
With the approval letter in hand, Tower Resources moves immediately into the completion phase. A formal notice of completion will be sent to Prime Global Energies, signaling that all conditions precedent have been satisfied.
Alongside that notice, Tower will circulate a draft deed of assignment, novation, and amendment — a document that goes to both MIME and Tower’s existing license partners. It formally records the transfer of interest and any associated changes to the partnership structure. Full completion is expected to follow shortly after these steps are concluded. Each element must be executed correctly before Prime’s participation in PEL96 becomes legally effective.
Separate 5% interest acquisition still pending
Not everything connected to PEL96 is moving at the same pace. A separate transaction — the proposed purchase of an additional 5% interest in the license — remains unresolved.
Tower’s wholly owned subsidiary, Tower Resources (Namibia) Limited, announced on March 7, 2025 (with an update on March 16, 2026), that it intended to acquire that 5% stake from local partner ZM Fourteen Investment. Ministerial approval for that transaction has not yet arrived, and the delay carries a contractual consequence: neither Tower nor ZM Fourteen is currently bound to complete the acquisition. The two parties are continuing discussions on how to proceed, though no timeline has been indicated.
That is a distinct matter from the farm-out to Prime, which has already cleared its regulatory hurdle.
Background: Tower Resources and the PEL96 block
Tower Resources is an AIM-listed oil and gas company focused on African exploration, with a portfolio built around early-stage opportunities across the continent. PEL96 represents one of its core assets.
The block sits offshore Namibia, a country that has attracted considerable international attention following major deepwater discoveries that repositioned it as a credible frontier destination. That context gives PEL96 commercial relevance even at an early stage. Prime Global Energies enters as a partner Asher described as bringing “substantial technical and financial resources and a track record of operational ‘success’—qualities intended to accelerate progress on the work program.
The farm-out structure lets Tower share costs and risks while retaining exposure to future upside. For a junior explorer operating in a frontier environment where well costs and geological complexity run high, bringing in a technically experienced partner is a standard and practical approach.
A deed of assignment in the pipeline
MIME has approved the farm-out of PEL96 from Tower Resources to Prime Global Energies. That approval was the last outstanding condition under the January 2025 contract and now allows the transaction to move to formal completion.
Tower will issue a completion notice and circulate a deed of assignment in the near term, with full closing expected to follow promptly. Separately, the proposed acquisition of a 5% interest from ZM Fourteen remains pending—both parties are still in discussions, no resolution has been announced, and that transaction proceeds independently of the farmout.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
