South Africa has called for closer collaboration with Namibia in offshore oil and gas exploration, infrastructure development, investment promotion and skills development as the two countries seek to capitalise on growing activity in the Orange Basin.
Speaking at the Fourth Session of the Namibia-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the countries’ shared geology and geographical proximity positioned them to jointly develop one of the world’s most promising emerging hydrocarbon frontiers.
“The Orange Basin is emerging as one of the world’s most promising new energy frontiers,” Ramaphosa said.
“Its development presents us with an opportunity not simply to extract oil and gas, but to establish an integrated regional energy economy encompassing exploration, engineering, refining, petrochemicals, logistics, maritime services and advanced manufacturing.”
Ramaphosa congratulated Namibia on its offshore oil discoveries and said the basin presented an opportunity for both countries to deepen cooperation across the entire oil and gas value chain rather than compete for investment.
He also identified green hydrogen as another area for collaboration, highlighting South Africa’s Boegoebaai Deepwater Port and Green Hydrogen Development Programme as a platform for establishing a cross-border green industrial corridor.
The energy cooperation agenda also includes accelerating discussions on the Kudu Gas Power Project and advancing a proposal to transmit electricity from Angola through Namibia to South Africa.
Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the two governments had identified energy as one of the Bi-National Commission’s priority areas and proposed that their respective energy ministers engage Angola on formalising the regional electricity transmission initiative.
“We have identified several high-impact priority areas for consideration during this Summit of the BNC. These priority areas include exploring the possibility of formalising the proposal to transmit electricity from Angola through Namibia to South Africa,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the commission had also agreed to revitalise discussions on the Kudu Gas Power Project as part of broader efforts to strengthen regional energy security, industrialisation and economic integration.
Beyond energy, Ramaphosa called for deeper cooperation in mining through joint exploration, geological mapping, scientific research and downstream mineral beneficiation, adding that finalising the memorandum of understanding on geology and mining would provide a framework for collaboration between the two countries’ geoscience institutions.
