Namibia: Progress in Oil

Back in 2018, we looked at the Oil and Gas sector And how it has been an exclusive, powerful “club” of which Namibia had only dipped its toes via the

Kudu Gas project It was also noted at the time that the provision for this dominance is market driven with there being more oil-consumer countries than oil producers.

Many oil and gas explorers have come and gone since Namibia’s Independence in 1990 NAMCOR[1] indicates that the first wells were explored in the 1960’s[2] Interestingly enough, the indications pre-2022 from the news releases of the various companies that have attempted to explore wells so far, indicate that the southern coastline emanating from the South African Border favours gas, while venturing further north towards Angola should yield oil.

The Kudu Gas project which is still to be commercially utilized is noted to have a quantity of gas equivalent to 1 3 TCF and a recoverable gas probability of 50% This will be hopefully utilized in the Kudu Power Project of a megawatt size now committed in the order of 420MW planned phase 1 and 400mw planned phase 2 which is to be confirmed with more experience with the reservoirs.

The search also takes place on land Reconnaissance Energy Africa Limited (ReconAfrica) is engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas in Namibia through its exploration activities in Namibia in 2018 This is via a license to operate in the Kavango sedimentary basin, covering an area of approximately 25 341.33 square kilometers (sq. Km). It currently owns 90% of the exploration license, while NAMCOR owns the remaining 10%

According to ReconAfrica, the license’s period comprises three phases, of which the last ends on 29 January 2024 or if the need arises for an extension, until 29 January 2026. As of April 3, 2023, ReconAfrica announced as a result of recent data from the ongoing phase two 2-D seismic program, a significant new play type has been confirmed in the southern and western parts of the Company’s ~6 3 million acres exploration licence area in Namibia – PEL 73

With the arrival of 2022 however, Namibia is well on its way to attracting more oil investments due in no small part to the recent (2022 and 2023) oil finds off the southern coastline These finds are listed as:

Qatar Energy, light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X deep-water exploration well drilled in the PEL-39 exploration license, offshore southern Namibia Total Energies, light oil with associated gas on the Venus prospect, located in block 2913B in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia

Shell, light oil with associated gas on the Graff-1 prospect, located in block 2913A in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia

Why is it such a big deal?

Namibia with a land mass of some 825,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 2 5 million people coupled with an unemployment rate of 33%, is welcomed news The current highest employment sector is agriculture at around 70% with low-income levels.

Some Analysts believe that these finds can be a lifeline for Namibia through boosts to the economy estimated by others to be up to US$ 11 billion, boosting the economy and creating jobs (Rystad Energy) These finds could see several sub-contracts being taken up by Namibian companies and specialists which would not only create/provide jobs but also enhance experience and skills.

Coupled with Namibia’s clear steps towards Hydrogen, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, was selected as the preferred bidder for the development of Namibia’s first green hydrogen project Namibia will receive millions in concessional fees from the developer which will further help the country deliver economic development and energy poverty reduction.

Is Namibia on the right track? The conversation continues editor@rdjpublishing.africa

Please note that nothing in this article is intended to infer investment advice and should not be relied on.

Namcor: https://www.namcor.com.na/contact/ Media Relations: presse@totalenergies com

ReconAfrica Media Inquiries Email: media@reconafrica com

Readings: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-0621/-jackpot-oil-discoveries-may-help-namibia-doublegdp-by-2040#xj4y7vzkg https://energycapitalpower com/namibia-region-oilgas-exploration/ https://www brookings edu/blog/africa-infocus/2022/01/29/africa-in-the-news-major-oil-andgas-discovery-in-namibia-coup-detat-in-burkina-fasoand-covid-update/