India says it is keen on exploring investment opportunities in Namibia’s oil and gas sector as the two countries deepen bilateral relations.
India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India was one of the biggest global energy consumers thus it was very important for the country to position itself.
Jaishankar led a high-level delegation to Namibia and made these remarks at State House on Monday during a courtesy call on President Hage Geingob.
According to studies, India’s energy demand is expected to grow at about 3% per annum by 2040, compared to the global rate of 1%. Further, 25% of the global energy growth between 2020 and 2040 is envisaged to come from India due to the fast-growing economy and demographic dividend.
“But if you look at the next 50 years to come, the world demand is going to come from us, so some of it is fossil fuels, oil and gas, in which many of our companies are heavily involved. We also have some of the biggest solar programs as well, thus as a country we really need to stand side by side with each other. So we will be very keen to work with Namibia,” Jaishankar, who is on a three-day official visit to Namibia, said.
This was after Geingob said Namibia will need assistance with skills from India considering that India is among the most experienced countries dealing in the oil, energy and gas sectors.
“We come a long way from the days of the liberation struggle, you stood by here when we needed you, and now that we are liberated it is now time to come and see what we can also offer. We recently discovered massive oil, and we are embarking on green hydrogen, of which we will greatly need your support and assistance as you are more knowledgeable in these new areas,” he said.
India has six operating Liquified Natural Gas terminals and several more coming online. Over 18,820km of product pipelines, 10,419 km of crude oil pipelines and 32,728km of natural gas pipelines are operational, with additional pipelines under construction.
India joins a growing list of countries that have expressed their interest in partnering with Namibia to develop its emerging energy sector.
Global oil majors, TotalEnergies and Shell have made “significant” oil discoveries off the coast of Namibia. The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) estimates that oil could generate US$5.6 billion in revenue for the country at peak production and has the potential to double the country’s economy, which Bloomberg estimates at US$11 billion by 2040.
