Impact Oil & Gas Ltd. agreed to a corporate restructuring that will split its exploration assets in Namibia and South Africa into separate companies, a move aimed at fully funding its flagship oil discovery through to production.
The UK-based explorer entered into a share purchase agreement with IOG Energies, a wholly owned unit of Deepkloof, which is Impact’s majority shareholder. Meren Energy, the company’s second-largest investor, is also backing the transaction. Under the terms of the deal, all shares in its wholly owned subsidiary, Impact Africa Ltd. (IAL), along with its related assets, will be transferred to IOG Energies.
The transaction carves out Impact’s South African portfolio, which includes a 45% interest in the Transkei & Algoa blocks off the east coast and full ownership of Area 2. It also includes a 22% stake in the Orange Basin Deep block off the west coast. The separation creates a dedicated structure designed to attract fresh investment into South Africa’s offshore frontiers while isolating the funding requirements of its marquee Namibian blocks.
Following the completion of the restructuring, Impact’s core portfolio will focus exclusively on its 9.5% undivided participating interest in Blocks 2912 and 2913B offshore Namibia. Held through its Impact Oil and Gas Namibia subsidiary, these assets contain the Venus field discovery, a multi-billion-barrel find operated by TotalEnergies SE. QatarEnergy and Namibia’s state oil firm, NAMCOR, hold the remaining stakes in the licenses.
The strategic pivot allows Impact to concentrate its resources entirely on advancing the Venus development toward a final investment decision and first oil. TotalEnergies and its partners anticipate a development decision on the estimated 750-million-barrel project in the first half of 2026. Despite the legal separation of the portfolios, both Impact and IOG Energies will continue to be run by Impact’s existing management team and staff.
“The reorganisation is an important step for Impact and positions the company to be fully funded through to First Oil on the Venus Field development,” Chief Executive Officer Siraj Ahmed said in a statement. He added that the new structure will simultaneously allow the South African exploration assets to be managed efficiently within a dedicated corporate vehicle.
The reorganization remains subject to regulatory approvals from South African authorities and consent from relevant joint venture partners.
