Namibia wants its emerging oil and gas industry to become a catalyst for industrial development, local supply chains and investment rather than develop primarily as an offshore crude export industry, Vice President Lucia Witbooi has said.
Speaking at the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference 2026 in Windhoek on Wednesday, Witbooi said the country’s transition from exploration towards potential production must create economic activity across industries that support the petroleum value chain.
“Petroleum must not become an enclave industry operating alongside the Namibian economy. It must become a catalyst for diversification, industrialisation and enterprise development,” Witbooi said.
She identified ports, logistics, fabrication, engineering, marine services, storage, manufacturing, financial services and information technology among sectors that could benefit as Namibia develops its upstream petroleum industry.
The push comes as discoveries including Venus and Mopane in the Orange Basin have increased expectations that Namibia could develop a major offshore petroleum industry, shifting attention from exploration success towards commercial development and production.
Witbooi said Namibia’s success should therefore not be measured only by achieving first oil, but by how much domestic economic capacity is created around petroleum developments.
“The real dividend must be reflected in jobs, stronger Namibian businesses, improved infrastructure, technology transfer, skills development, increased government revenues, industrial growth and improved opportunities for future generations,” she said.
Government is advancing the National Upstream Petroleum Local Content Policy as part of efforts to increase Namibian participation in the sector through employment, procurement, enterprise development, technology and knowledge transfer, ownership and financing.
Witbooi, however, said local participation must be commercially sustainable, requiring Namibian suppliers and professionals to develop the technical capacity and standards needed to compete in the international oil and gas industry.
The Presidency is also pushing for future petroleum revenues to be managed in a way that converts finite hydrocarbon resources into long-term national assets.
“Petroleum revenue must not be treated as an invitation to consume more today at the expense of tomorrow. We must use a portion of resource income to strengthen public finances, support productive investment and preserve wealth for future generations,” Witbooi said.
She said the Welwitschia Sovereign Wealth Fund would form part of the institutional framework for preserving resource wealth, while government strengthens systems for transparency, accountability and petroleum revenue management.
“Our ambition is not simply to become an oil-producing country. Our ambition is to become a country that uses the petroleum opportunity intelligently to accelerate economic transformation,” Witbooi said.
The long-term test for Namibia, she said, will be whether its petroleum industry leaves behind infrastructure, technical skills, competitive local companies, stronger institutions and financial assets that continue generating value beyond the life of the country’s oil and gas resources.
