TotalEnergies Namibia says it has completed key technical preparations for the Venus oil discovery in the Orange Basin and is working to conclude discussions with the government as it targets a potential final investment decision (FID) this year.
TotalEnergies Namibia Joint Venture and Development Director Carlos Menezes said the company has completed front-end engineering studies, developed a field development plan and concluded key tenders covering the main development packages.
“We’ve conducted the FE studies since last year and, in conjunction with that, we’ve run the key tenders for the main development packages. These include the FPSO, subsea drilling and wells, and we are technically ready in that regard,” Menezes said.
He said TotalEnergies has received offers from contractors for the development packages and is now seeking to maintain momentum while discussions with Namibian authorities continue.
“As I said, we’re technically ready. We’ve done the engineering work, we have a robust field development plan in place, completed the main tenders and have offers in hand,” Menezes said.
He said concluding the outstanding discussions is critical because the commercial offers available to the project are not open-ended.
“We need to finalise those discussions so that we can take advantage of the momentum and the offers that we have in hand. The time is now. This is not an open-ended window. We really need to be moving soon,” he said.
Alongside preparations for Venus, TotalEnergies is advancing a broader pipeline of exploration and appraisal opportunities across its Namibian licences, with Mopane identified as a potential follow-on development.
“This is all part of a strategy towards creating a pipeline of potential projects. We have Venus, of course, at the cusp of a potential FID, with Mopane potentially coming behind that,” Menezes said.
TotalEnergies has also been working with Galp, its joint venture partners and Namibian authorities to conclude a transaction involving their respective interests in offshore licences.
Menezes said the transaction received ministerial approval a few months ago, with administrative processes still being finalised.
Once completed, the arrangement would allow the companies to take interests in each other’s licences. Galp remains operator of PEL83 while preparations continue for the next exploration and appraisal campaign.
TotalEnergies is also involved in PEL104 under a transaction announced earlier this year involving the existing operator and Petrobras, with the licence forming an earlier-stage exploration component of the company’s wider Namibian portfolio.
“We also have the deal that was announced early in the year on PEL104 with the existing operator and Petrobras, which is more at the exploration level. Again, this is about building a pipeline, not just sticking to Venus, but having follow-up potential projects with Mopane, exploration activity on PEL104 and other value that can be created within these licences,” Menezes said.
Despite being technically ready, Menezes said developing Venus will require significant infrastructure and logistical support because of the deepwater environment in which the discovery is located.
“Venus is a technically ready project, but making it happen requires us to solve the infrastructure, construction, subsea and logistical challenges associated with developing a field in this environment. The work has been done, the engineering has been done, and we are confident that it can be done,” he said.
The development would require specialised subsea equipment, fabrication capacity, port facilities and logistics to support construction and offshore installation activities.
TotalEnergies and its partners have been engaging Namibian authorities and other stakeholders on the infrastructure requirements needed to support the potential development.
Menezes said the company’s immediate focus is to conclude the outstanding discussions around Venus and preserve the commercial and technical momentum needed to move the project towards FID.
