Abstract The exploration campaign in offshore Namibia gained new momentum in 1992 when new licenses were awarded in the independent Namibia. Seismic and well data from Quadrant 1911 has brought new insight to the stratigraphy of the vast Namibian shelf. A stratigraphic breakdown of the northern Namibian offshore area is proposed. The post-breakup succession is divided into seven major stratigraphic units or groups, from W1 (oldest) to W7 (where W denotes the Walvis Basin). Each group is described in terms of geometry with examples from seismic expression and structural maps, and lithofacies as seen in well data. The W1 Group consists of volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks, succeeded by the W2 Group shallow-marine carbonates. After a tectonic event causing block faulting, the W3 Group consisting of siltstones and claystones with limestone stringers was deposited. The W4 Group consists of claystones and siltstone–sandstones, including claystones with very good hydrocarbon source rock potential. In Quadrant 1911, the W4 Group also includes a large volcanic center. The W5 Group consists of mudstones with interbeds of sandstones and thin limestones. Following the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary, the W6 Group mudstones, claystones, and marls were deposited, followed by claystones of the W7 Group. The sedimentary succession of Quadrant 1911 postdates the Neocomian Etendeka plateau basalts found in onshore Namibia. After onset of the drift phase in late Hauterivian time, the Walvis Basin subsided and a marine transgression eventually took place. Shallow-marine platform carbonates prevailed until an Albian tectonic event resulted in complex block faulting and the formation of several subbasins. Subsequent volcanic activity created a series of volcanic centers localized near the Walvis Ridge bathymetric feature. The southern African craton was uplifted, leading to the formation of large-scale westward-prograding wedges. Later sedimentation largely followed the evolution of a passive continental margin, responding to relative sea level changes and paleoclimate.