TotalEnergies’ proposed offshore oil development at the Venus Field is expected to create approximately 600 direct jobs during the production phase, with most positions to be filled by highly skilled personnel working on offshore and onshore facilities.
The details are contained in the Final Scoping Report submitted to Namibian authorities as part of the ongoing Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the project.
According to the report, the bulk of the workforce will be based on the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and its support fleet.
“The FPSO has a maximum crew capacity of 160, with additional personnel working aboard support vessels, including dynamic positioning shuttle tankers (DPST), and onshore operations,” the report stated.
While most roles will require highly specialised skills, the use of Namibian labour will be prioritised “whenever possible”, particularly for onshore support positions.
Onshore staff will be stationed in Windhoek and at a dedicated logistics base.
Personnel transfers to the FPSO will be carried out by helicopter, with three to four trips per week anticipated from a support base, most likely in Lüderitz.
The Venus Field development, located in Block 2913B off Namibia’s southern coast, is led by TotalEnergies EP Namibia B.V. (TEEPNA), in partnership with Impact Oil & Gas, NAMCOR, and QatarEnergy.
The companies are seeking environmental approval to proceed with full-scale development of the field, discovered in 2022.
Plans include the drilling of up to 40 subsea wells, with hydrocarbons to be processed and stored on the FPSO. Produced oil will be transferred to tankers for export, while associated gas will be reinjected into the wells.
If approved, development will take an estimated five years following a Final Investment Decision (FID), with the project expected to have a lifespan of more than 20 years.
The Venus Field lies in deep water, about 3,000 metres below sea level and roughly 300 kilometres off the coast of Oranjemund.
TotalEnergies has delayed its FID on Venus until 2026. The decision was initially expected by the end of 2025 but was pushed back, according to CEO Patrick Pouyanné, who confirmed the new timeline during the company’s February results presentation.
Revised projections also show a downward adjustment in expected production from the field, from an initial 160,000 barrels per day to 150,000 barrels per day, as disclosed during the company’s investor update in October.
Venus is one of several major offshore oil projects under review as Namibia moves closer to establishing a commercial hydrocarbon production sector.
Final approval for the project will depend on the outcome of the ESIA and environmental process now underway.
