Following a string of offshore oil and gas discoveries made between 2022 and 2024, Namibia’s Orange Basin has garnered substantial interest from IOCs and independent exploration and production (E&P) firms. Largely considered one of the world’s hottest frontier oil plays, the country plans to produce first oil by 2030, joining the likes of Angola as a major African oil producer.
Namibia’s Minister of Energy and Mines Tom Alweendo will speak at the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this October. His participation reflects the country’s commitment to leveraging regional collaboration to boost oil and gas development and aligns closely with Angola and Namibia’s shared goals of Driving Exploration and Development Towards Increased Production – the theme of AOG 2024. During the event, Minister Alweendo will provide an update on exploration endeavors in Namibia while drawing insight into future investment opportunities and areas for collaboration.
AOG is the largest oil and gas event in Angola. Taking place with the full support of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas; national oil company Sonangol; the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency; the African Energy Chamber; and the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute, the event is a platform to sign deals and advance Angola’s oil and gas industry.
Since play-opening discoveries were made in the Orange Basin in 2022 by energy majors Shell (Graff-1) and TotalEnergies (Venus-1), a number of companies have entered Namibia’s upstream market in the hopes of delivering similar finds. Canadian oil and gas exploration company Sintana Energy secured a stake in two blocks in the Orange Basin in June 2024 through its acquisition of a 49% interest in private Namibian company Giraffe Energy Investments. Petroleum refineries corporation Chevron signed a deal for an 80% operating interest in PEL 82 while Azule Energy – Angola’s largest independent equity producers of oil – farmed-in to Block 2914A in PEL 85. Meanwhile, Shell and oil and natural gas conglomerate ExxonMobil are evaluating bids for a stake in energy corporation Galp’s Mopane oilfield – boasting up to 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
These developments follow discoveries made at the Mangetti-1X well in February 2024; the Mopane-1X well in January 2024; the Lesedi-1X well in July 2023; and the Jonker-1X well in March 2023. Shell’s Graff-1X, La Rona and Jonker-1X wells could contain as much as 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent while TotalEnergies’ Venus-1X project could contain as much as three billion barrels – making it sub-Saharan Africa’s largest discovery. With these, Namibia is on track to become a major oil and gas producer while demonstrating its commitment to fast-tracking developments, with a focus on offshore projects.
In this sense, Namibia stands to learn a lot from neighboring Angola, which has significant experience in developing deepwater oil and gas projects. Up to 75% of Angola’s crude is produced offshore, primarily from the Cabinda field and deepwater fields in the Lower Congo Basin. Going forward, deep and ultra-deepwater projects will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to maintain production above one million barrels per day. Major projects include the Kaminho development in Block 20/11 – the first large deepwater development in the Kwanza Basin, comprising the Cameia and Golfinho fields – and the Agogo Integrated West Hub Development in Block 15/06. Set to come online in 2028 and 2026, respectively, the projects serve as a benchmark for emerging deepwater developments in Namibia.
Onshore, various companies are making strides towards uncovering commercial deposits in the country. Oil and gas company ReconAfrica spud the Naingopo exploration well at PEL 73 in July 2024, targeting 163 million barrels of oil. The well is the first of a multi-well campaign, with the second to be drilled by Q4 this year. Additionally, in July 2024, exploration company 88 Energy launched a 2D seismic acquisition program for PEL 93 in the Owambo Basin, onshore Namibia, aimed at determining untapped deposits.
During the AOG 2024 conference, Minister Alweendo will participate in a ministerial panel exploring regional trade and integration. His participation is expected to create new pathways for cross-border collaboration and will be instrumental in strengthening cooperation around oil and gas exploration and production in Africa.