ExxonMobil has bought into another offshore block near Pancontinental’s Namibia licence area — and the ASX-listed junior has used the opportunity to repeat how excited it is about its first well there.

The US oil major farmed-in (or bought into) a second block to the south of Pancontinental’s (ASX:PCL) 20 per cent-owned PEL 37, after farming into a neighbouring block in February.

Pancontinental has been talking about the September start date for the first well, Cormorant-1, since March.

Its 20 per cent stake means it doesn’t have to pay any drilling costs. But when drilling starts it will receive $7.3 million from its investment partner Africa Energy Corp.

Pancontinental also plans to unveil an oil resource estimate for its 75 per cent owned PEL 87 licence area — also offshore Namibia but further to the south.

Pancontinental CEO John Begg called the area a “global oil hotspot”.

“We built our position early offshore Namibia and brought together a strong joint venture in PEL 37 that has led to drilling with the company holding a free carried 20 per cent interest,” he said.

“Our initial technical work is nearly complete in PEL 87. This will soon allow us to release details of the volumetric scale of the very large potential oil traps we are mapping there”.

The company is pitching itself as the next Carnarvon Petroleum (ASX:CVN) following that company’s oil and share market success following good results from its Dorado well in Western Australia .

Pancontinental shares over the last six months.

Pancontinental is also a 10 per cent partner in a producing gas field in California run by Sacgasco.

The news of ExxonMobil’s continued foray into Namibia failed to excite investors who for eight months have been fed a diet of news about the “highly anticipated” drilling campaign in September.

The stock fell 4.5 per cent to 1.1c after surging in August.

Stockhead is seeking comment from Pancontinental.