Overview

For the first time since independence, Namibia’s upstream oil and gas sector is on the verge of rapid transformation.  Significant discoveries made in the country’s Orange Basin in 2022 and 2023 – which include the Graff-1, Venus-1, and Jonker-1X exploration projects – have attracted oil and gas supermajors including TotalEnergies, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, as well as multinational energy corporations such as Galp and QatarEnergy.  According to Namibia’s National Petroleum Company NAMCOR, fields in Namibia’s offshore Orange Basin (where Total and Shell drilled multiple exploratory wells) hold 11 billion barrels of light oil and 2.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.  If proven commercially viable, the finds could unlock an unprecedented revenue windfall for the Namibian government, more than doubling the country’s GDP by 2040.

Leading Sub-Sectors

Oil and gas equipment: high quality, cost-saving and operations’ optimization technology solutions; exploration and production equipment and services (e.g., deep and ultra-deep technologies, namely drill ships, floating vessels); and environmental protection and monitoring technologies (e.g., sea pollution remediation products).

Opportunities

Recent discoveries in the offshore Orange Basin suggest that Namibia is on the verge of a historic oil boom.  The Government of Namibia is encouraging continued exploration, which could lead to the development of oil and gas fields, transportation, and storage of petroleum products, and eventually refinery construction and associated infrastructure.  The government also seeks industry-specific trainings and capacity building for the oil and gas sector.

Resources

·        Ministry of Mines and Energy

·        NAMCOR