The final Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the proposed offshore Venus oil field development have been formally submitted to Namibian authorities for consideration, Namibia Mining & Energy has learned.
The final documents were submitted on 12 January 2026 to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy as part of the application for an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for the project.
The application relates to the proposed development of the offshore Venus Field in Block 2913B, located off Namibia’s southern coast.
The block is held under an exploration licence by TotalEnergies EP Namibia B.V., together with joint venture partners Impact Oil & Gas, NAMCOR and QatarEnergy, which are currently evaluating the commercial development of the discovery following exploration and appraisal results.
The Venus field is situated approximately 320 kilometres south-west of Lüderitz, in the northern part of Block 2913B, in water depths of about 3 000 metres.
According to the project description, the proposed development would involve the drilling of up to 40 subsea production wells, the installation of associated subsea infrastructure, and the mooring of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel at the field.
Crude light oil produced from the field would be processed and stored on the FPSO before being offloaded to tankers for export to international markets. Offshore activities would be supported by supply vessels and aircraft operating from existing onshore facilities, with no requirement for new large-scale onshore infrastructure.
The joint venture is seeking an ECC to proceed with the development and production of the Venus field. If environmental authorisation is granted, construction, drilling and installation activities are expected to take about five years, after which production would commence and continue for an estimated period of 20 years or longer.
The environmental assessment practitioner noted that the proposed development triggers several listed activities under Namibia’s Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of 2012, making an ECC a legal requirement before any project activities can proceed.
SLR Environmental Consulting (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd was appointed as the independent environmental assessment practitioner to manage the ECC application and to undertake both the scoping and full ESIA processes for the project.
According to the consultant, issues raised during public consultation were comprehensively considered and addressed through the ESIA process, with most anticipated social impacts assessed as low to very low significance once proposed mitigation measures are applied.
The consultant said concerns relating to livelihoods, fisheries, human rights, climate change, oil spill risks and benefit-sharing were assessed using a precautionary, worst-case approach. The assessment found that the offshore location of the project limits direct impacts on coastal communities.
The report further noted that no physical or economic displacement is expected. It added that grievance and compensation mechanisms are provided for unplanned events, and that the overall social impacts of the proposed Venus development are considered manageable and acceptable at a project level, subject to regulatory oversight and the effective implementation of the Environmental and Social Management Plan.
