More than 1,400 delegates are attending the 4th Namibia Oil and Gas Conference, with the event oversubscribed amid growing interest in the country’s emerging petroleum industry and recently approved local content policy.
Economic Association of Namibia Chairperson Jason Kasuto said the conference is taking place at an important time following Cabinet’s recent approval of Namibia’s long-awaited local content policy, which provides direction for businesses seeking to participate in the industry.
“The conference comes at a time when Namibians and those around the globe are eager to see what Namibia’s chart is the way for. And I think that reflects in our numbers, the conference has been oversubscribed. The numbers are north of 1,400 in terms of the delegates,” Kasuto said.
He said the conference has expanded its focus beyond plenary discussions to include masterclasses, pitching sessions for local suppliers, business-to-business interactions and exhibitions aimed at helping Namibian businesses understand what is required to participate in the oil and gas supply chain.
Kasuto said organisers deliberately placed the exhibition at the front of the conference this year to increase exposure for participating businesses and encourage greater interaction between delegates and local enterprises.
“We’ve added deeper innovation because I speak about the heartbeat of this conference, not plenaries. The heartbeat of this conference is the masterclass pitching sessions for local suppliers, the B2B interactions and we’re able to facilitate that, will be able to grow enterprises and for our enterprises to understand what the gap is that they need to meet in order to meet a certain standards that are required,” he said.
The conference is also drawing significant youth participation, with Kasuto noting a strong presence of young people, particularly in the masterclasses.
He said the event is intended to move beyond discussions about Namibia’s oil and gas potential by connecting businesses with industry participants and helping local companies position themselves for opportunities in the emerging sector.
“We stand to be the pre-eminent oil and gas platform in the country where real conversations are going to be heard, but where we want to put action to paper and get businesses to grow and interact,” Kasuto said.
