Home to just 0.2% of the African population at 2.6 million, Namibia could soon be punching well above its weight economically thanks to a combination of oil, gas, mineral and renewable energy riches.“We have a clear window of opportunity to transform our economy,” Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo told a May workshop in Swakopmund. “Depending on how we decide to deal with these opportunities, we have the real potential to effectively address the triple social ills of unemployment, poverty, and inequality,” he added.Offshore fields in Namibia’s Orange Basin are estimated to hold 11 billion barrels of light oil and 2.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, according to the National Petroleum Corporation (Namcor).Royalties from the fields have the potential to more than double the country’s gross domestic product by 2040.Exploitation of the fields would put Namibia on par as the third-largest producer in Africa with neighbouring Angola, which has reserves of 13 billion barrels, but a population of over 36 million, which is 2.5% of the African total.Nigeria, which has a population of 224m (15.3% of the total), is the largest producer, followed by Algeria.Post-independence exploration has uncovered much more than oil wealth.Delivering his 2024 budget speech to parliament, Alweendo said: “In the mining sector, because of the energy transition brought about by the global undertaking to address the effects of climate change, there is now a global demand for critical raw materials and metals. “Some of these minerals, such as lithium, are available in our country.”International investors are welcome, he added.“We have various countries and international companies that are seeking to partner and collaborate with us in the realisation of our ambition to grow our economy and improve the livelihoods of the citizens, leveraging our mineral and energy resources. “We welcome such partnerships and collaborations, but only on one condition, and that is that such partnerships are with like-minded partners and in the best interests of Namibians,” he said.If managed well, the wealth f lowing into government coffers will enable Namibia to punch above its weight politically as well. Already, the OPEC+ oil producers’ group is wooing Namibia to join them. "We are excited about the potential of the Namibian OPEC partnership and stand ready to offer support at this crucial juncture," OPEC secretary general Haitham Al Gha said in a prerecorded message to an international energy conference in Namibia.
