Immanuel Mulunga, NAMCOR

NAMIBIA WELL ON ITS WAY TO BUILDING CAPACITY

For 2021, National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia’s (NAMCOR) focus lies in the operational control of the National Oil Storage Facility of Namibia (NOSF), coupled with its aggressive retail expansion strategy, according to Immanuel Mulunga, managing director at NAMCOR. Deblina Roy reports.

What role are oil and gas playing in meeting Namibia’s energy demand?

Oil and Gas makes a significant contribution to the country’s energy demand. Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) used by mines for some of their internal operations, as well as for power generation, are instances where there is an exceptionally high demand. Industrial kitchens as well as a number of domestic kitchens use gas for cooking and various other functions. Almost all forms of transportation such as vehicles, boats and airplanes are dependent on fuel for movement. The construction industry is equally dependent on the oil and gas industry. NAMCOR assists in the alleviation of this demand through its constant supply of various petroleum products to multiple industries across the country.

What are the main challenges and opportunities Namibia is facing for future oil and gas explorations?

The imminent global transition from hydrocarbons to electricity has the potential to negatively affect investment in oil and gas exploration. This will negatively impact our prospects and earlier discovery. Reduced exploration budgets are another unfavourable development for hydrocarbon investment and are likely to result in fewer wells being drilled. However, our electricity networks are not at the same pace as those of developed countries which inevitably require us to be users of hydrocarbons for quite some time in the future.

Image Credit: NAMCOR

Immanuel Mulunga is the managing director at NAMCOR.

Being the national oil company of Namibia, what are key focus areas of NAMCOR? How is NAMCOR focusing on the acquisition of production assets internationally?

which involves the exploration and production of oil and gas resources. Under the Downstream operations, the company is involved in the fuel retail sector and opened its first branded fuel service station at the Hosea Kutako International Airport in August 2019. It also supplies petroleum products to the market. Currently, for 2021, our focus lies in the operational control of the National Oil Storage Facility of Namibia (NOSF), coupled with our aggressive retail expansion strategy.

In terms of evolving approaches to local content, what are the key initiatives NAMCOR has taken for employment, industrial and technological development?

As a State Owned Enterprise (SOE), NAMCOR is subject to Namibia’s Public Procurement Act of 2017, which essentially promotes local providers. The company has increased its staff complement over the previous years and was fortunate to retain staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. NAMCOR makes a significant contribution to capacity building by dedicating a budget for the educational and training needs of its employees. The company also takes in a number of interns and temporary employees each year to assist university students to earn much needed practical experience. After the internship, many of them are taken on board as temporary employees. A few of them have been fortunate to be employed on a permanent basis.

The company has significantly invested in ICT infrastructure. For example, staff members can now log into the company systems externally and be in position to fully work away from the office environment. This has been a transformation in the procurement process from manual to digital. NAMCOR is well on its way to becoming paperless. 