JOINT OIL Announces New Bid Round for Zarat Development and Joint Oil Block Exploration Acreage; Appoints Moyes & Co. as Strategic Advisor
Oregen Energy today to announced the appointment of Philip Birch as a Strategic Advisor to the Company, effective immediately.
The appointment follows Oregen’s April 7, 2026 announcement that it had executed a non‑binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to evaluate opportunity in the share capital of Petrovena Energy (Pty) Ltd., its local partner, which has been issued an award letter to enter into a Petroleum Agreement and be granted a license on Block 2812Ab in Namibia’s Orange Basin. Block 2812Ab is directly adjacent to TotalEnergies’ Block 2913B (PEL 56), which hosts the Venus discovery, one of the most significant offshore oil discoveries made globally in recent years.

Block 2812Ab lies on the same Upper Cretaceous deep‑marine clastic fairway as Venus and other recent Orange Basin oil discoveries, providing direct geological read‑through to a proven petroleum system. Oregen believes this adjacency materially enhances the block’s strategic and technical relevance as the basin advances toward development planning and Final Investment Decisions.
Mr. Birch is a highly respected petroleum geoscientist and exploration executive with decades of international experience in global frontier basin exploration and deepwater petroleum systems. He most recently served as Exploration Director at Impact Oil & Gas, where he played a pivotal role in building the company’s Namibia offshore portfolio and in the identification and maturation of the Venus prospect prior to its successful drilling by TotalEnergies in 2022.
At Impact Oil & Gas, Mr. Birch was instrumental in the licensing of the Impact Oil and Gas Namibia blocks, the identification and de-risking of the Venus prospect, and its farm-out to TotalEnergies ahead of the Venus discovery well. He retired from the Impact Oil & Gas board in 2025 following the successful further farm‑down of the asset and the establishment of a clear development pathway.
As Strategic Advisor to Oregen, Mr. Birch will provide guidance on exploration strategy, subsurface evaluation, seismic interpretation, prospect generation, and technical positioning, with a particular focus on Block 2812Ab and the broader Orange Basin fairway.
Mason Granger, CEO of Oregen Energy Corp., commented:
“Our decision to pursue an investment in Block 2812Ab was driven by its direct adjacency to the Venus discovery and its position within the same proven geological fairway. Philip Birch was the key technical architect behind Venus, and his involvement with Oregen directly reflects our significant commitment to our strategy in the Orange Basin. Philip’s experience in building, de‑risking, and advancing one of the world's most important offshore petroleum provinces gives us a level of technical perspective and credibility that is exceptionally rare for a company at our stage. His deep familiarity with the Orange Basin's geology and regional play fairway is an exceptional asset as we advance our 2812Ab evaluation.”

Mr. Phil Birch added:
“Oregen’s entry into Block 2812Ab is a highly logical and compelling extension of the Orange Basin play system. The block sits directly on trend with PEL 56 and benefits from substantial geological read‑through from nearby discoveries. I am pleased to be joining Oregen at this stage and look forward to supporting the Company as it evaluates and advances its Orange Basin portfolio in a disciplined and technically rigorous manner.”
Mr. Birch’s appointment strengthens Oregen’s strategic and technical advisory capabilities at a pivotal time as the Company evaluates its potential investment in Block 2812Ab and continues to build a concentrated, high‑quality Orange Basin portfolio. Mr. Birch's advisory role with Oregen is based on his extensive regional expertise and geological knowledge of the Orange Basin fairway.
KeyFacts Energy: Oregen Energy Namibia country profile l KeyFacts Energy news: People on the Move
KEYFACT Energy
