Namibia: Plans to power Africa

Namibia's petroleum commissioner Maggy Shino says there has been progress with the development plan for the massive Kudu gas fields along the south coast of Namibia.

Speaking last Thursday, she said the development plan, which will also contain a production profile, is expected by February from the government's chosen development partner, BW Energy.

The plan will not only outline the deep-sea infrastructure but also the gas-to-power plant that will be built in Lüderitz to be able to generate electricity from the gas source, she says. After the plan has been considered by the government and approved, the way for the development of the massive project will be open, Shino said.

Namibia's ambition to address its own energy poverty and the shortage of electricity in the region and across the continent was exposed last week at the annual mining expo in Windhoek.

Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah already spoke at the opening of the Chamber of Mining's eleventh expo in favour of nuclear power and the local refining of oil recently discovered along the coast.

"By completing the full value chain and refining our own oil, the mining industry and the Namibian economy in general will benefit from the consumption of domestically produced fuel and hopefully at a much lower cost," said Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Plans

Shino said additional seismic data has been obtained, and together with the discovery of accompanying gas found in the nearby successful oil exploration wells, the prospective potential to expand the Kudu gas source even further has greatly improved. Additional gas exploration drilling is now also to be done for the plan, and the work to eventually tap the Kudu gas fields and begin to utilise them is constantly being worked on, she added.

Located about 130 km offshore, in the Orange Basin, and at depths of about 170 m, the Kudu-1 borehole was successfully drilled back in 1974, followed by the drilling of seven more boreholes. The resource is currently estimated at about 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Infrastructure development for both the Kudu development and exploitation of the oil discoveries in the Orange Basin will be focused on Lüderitz because it is the closest port to the discoveries, Shino said.

Dedicated infrastructure for the burgeoning oil industry is planned specifically for Lüderitz to reduce transport time from the oil wells to land, bring down production costs, and thus ensure the government's income from Namibian oil, according to the petroleum commissioner.

Ready to help

At the event, Shino also confirmed the interest of Iran, expressed in March this year, to help build an oil refinery on Walvis Bay. The petroleum commissioner said it was a business proposal and that Namibia welcomes similar proposals for private, bilateral or government-to-government development projects. In terms of Iran's proposal, no official application has been made so far, after which the usual process would follow to ensure it complies with Namibian legislation and applicable regulations, she said.

Expectations

Meanwhile, the country is waiting in anticipation for the assessment of the commercial viability of the oil discoveries that have already been made by TotalEnergies, Shell and Galp Energia, respectively. Results are expected by November, she said.

Also in November, three more exploration wells will be drilled near Kudu, with Rhino Resources and Chevron both hoping to hit the 'black gold'.

"The chance of success, now at 60%, has also improved significantly from the 10% chance that TotalEnegies had to face with the drilling of Venus," she said.

"A new dawn is upon us, and although it still looks a little vague, the promise on the horizon is that it will come," Shino underlined.

The petroleum commissioner said the energy transition dominates Namibia's plans and that low emission oil production was the goal from the start.

"The journey to production is still long, perhaps by 2029 or 2030, but we are trying to bring it closer."

Namibia is also committed to developing renewable energy sources, especially to establish an ambitious green hydrogen industry.