Namibia is eyeing a bright energy sector future, bountiful as it is with oil and gas exploration along its coast to the south and bolstered by limitless solar options across its arid interior.
But the government of President Hage Geingob has also made it very clear that, apart from attracting foreign direct investment in its resources, large corporate concerns are expected to invest in “local content” – its people.
As a result, Namibia is honing in on stakes in mining and petroleum production companies amidst growing concerns regarding local ownership of valuable resources.
"We are advocating for the notion that local ownership should commence with the state, which holds ownership of our natural resources," said Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo.
During a parliamentary session on Monday, he said: "The proposed state ownership should entail the state possessing a minimum equity percentage in all mining companies and petroleum production without any financial obligation.
Bloomberg reports that Namibia is one of Africa's principal producers of diamonds and uranium.
Privately owned exploration company, Impact Oil & Gas, announced in February that it will commence a comprehensive drilling program in the country, in collaboration with French multination, TotalEnergies.
This is after a significant offshore oil discovery was made by Total last year.
In February Total’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, said the company was “at the helm of a new golden block”, and had “decided to mobilize two rigs and $300 million” for exploratory work along Namibia’s southern coast.
According to Anton Pretorius, Group CEO of Logistics Support Services, Namibia’s energy sector prospects have the potential to propel the country’s flagging economy substantially beyond current revenue levels.
He told Freight News on a visit to Walvis Bay: “50% of their entire global exploration budget is currently going to Namibia, and they wouldn’t be doing that if they don’t have high expectations for the discovery.”
Namibia joins other countries, such as Zimbabwe, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Peru, in their pursuit of extracting greater value from their mineral resources or considering increased state intervention, largely due to the surge in commodity prices.
The country is also contemplating the establishment of a minerals exploration fund, which could be financed by a portion of the royalties paid by mining and petroleum companies to the state, as revealed by Alweendo.
The fund would be utilised to support local entrepreneurs seeking to invest in the mining sector.
