President Hage Geingob says the recent oil discoveries by TotalEnergies and Shell off the coast of Namibia have potential to propel the country to become a major oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The discovery of oil has the potential to enable Namibia to become the third-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Geingob told diplomats accredited to the country.
Angola is currently Africa’s biggest oil producer after it overtook Nigeria with over 9 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, and the country’s 2022 production stood at 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd).
The President’s comments come as the two oil majors,TotalEnergies and Shell, who are currently carrying appraisals on their discoveries, have invested billions in their ongoing oil exploration activities off the coast of Namibia, according to a report by Evercore ISI.
In the same vein, the President said the country was committed to overcoming energy poverty though the green hydrogen initiatives, which according to its Green Hydrogen Strategy, is targeting to create a green fuels industry with a production capacity of 10-12 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of hydrogen equivalent (H2) by 2050.
“I am pleased to state that with the assistance of several of your countries, we have made progress in this regard. The recently signed MoU with the European Union on Sustainable Raw Materials and Renewable Hydrogen opens up investment opportunities that gears toward turning Namibia into a clean energy hub with potential to export to other countries within the continent and beyond. Thus, Namibia is quickly emerging as an early entrant in the green energy market with the ambitions of becoming a leading exporter of Green Hydrogen,” he said.
Namibia inked a deal with the EU in November last year which will ensure the trade bloc’s access to the country’s rare earth metals to power the global transition to green energy.
The European Union wants easier access to minerals in Namibia and plans geological projects to explore the resources of the country.
This new partnership is embedded in Global Gateway, the EU’s strategy for trusted and sustainable connections with partner countries and aims to fast track the EU and Namibia’s joint green and energy transition.
Namibia is set to receive close to N$9 billion (€500 million) from the European Investment Bank to support the country’s renewable energy projects, including green hydrogen.
