By Luther Mostert
Namibia is on the brink of a transformative moment with the Venus discovery — a deepwater oil field hailed as one of the biggest offshore finds globally in recent years.
But why hasn’t TotalEnergies made a Final Investment Decision (FID) yet?
Let’s break it down with one cold, hard fact:
At 3,000 metres below sea level, subsea infrastructure must withstand external pressure of over 300 bar (or 4,400 psi).
That’s the equivalent of stacking the weight of three SUVs on every square inch of a pipe.
To bring it closer to home:
Your car tyre? Typically 2.2–2.5 bar.
Venus subsea gear? Over 120 times more pressure — non-stop, 24/7.
And that’s just the water above it.
Now add:
- Reservoir pressures exceeding 15,000 psi
- The need for specialised alloys and advanced sealing systems
- 24/7 operational uptime with zero tolerance for mechanical error
Has it ever been done before?
Yes — but only a handful of ultra-deepwater fields globally have pulled it off, including:
- Brazil’s Pre-Salt Fields (Lula, Búzios – depths of 2,000–3,000m)
- Gulf of Mexico (Jack, St. Malo, and Tiber – 2,500–3,100m)
- West Africa (Girassol and Dalia in Angola – ~1,400–1,800m)
The Venus project pushes these boundaries even further due to:
- Greater depth
- High gas content in the region
- Technical complexity of subsea infrastructure
- Logistical challenges from a greenfield base in Namibia
Why the delay to FID?
Because you only get one shot at getting this right. TotalEnergies is meticulously:
- Finalising ESIA consultations
- Engineering infrastructure for extreme pressures
- Securing the right supply chain and partners
- Balancing cost, risk and local content obligations
The bottom line
This isn’t just oil drilling — it’s extreme engineering under crushing ocean forces.
Getting to FID on Venus means building systems that don’t crack, corrode or fail in one of Earth’s most hostile environments.
When Namibia finally hits first oil, it won’t just be a success story. It’ll be a technological and geopolitical milestone.
Luther Mostert is Managing Director of DARON Namibia
