The Mines and Energy Ministry says Namibia is considering the possibility of acquiring a stake in the Lobito Refinery in Angola or constructing its own refining facility.
This comes as the country is on the brink of becoming an oil producer amid potential oil discoveries off the coast of Namibia by TotalEnergies and Shell.
The Lobito Refinery is a planned new refinery that will have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 barrels of refined crude per day, being spearheaded by Angola’s state-owned Sonangol EP.
Ministry of Mines and Energy Acting Executive Director Brian Eiseb said the government’s position stems from Angola being ahead of Namibia in terms of oil discovery and oil production. He said the Ministry visited the refinery in order to garner the possibility of Namibia acquiring equity.
“…And that is why we were invited to look at the possibility of taking up some equity in the new Lobito refinery that Angola is planning to accept. So, it was purely skills based, that’s a decision that has not been cemented yet. We are still in the exploratory phase of whether it’s viable for Namibia to take up equity and shares in the Lobito refinery or should we establish our own refinery,” Eiseb told The Brief.
Quizzed on the possibility of Namibia reconsidering its stance on importing fuel from Angola, which is significantly priced lower than in Namibia, Eiseb explained that the government’s interactions with Angola are purely around oil production and discovery as well as partnerships in terms of skills and capacity development and technical development.
“As you know, Namibia is on the verge of becoming an oil producing country. So for us, we took the position to say that let us look at our neighbouring countries and see how they have refined and matured in terms of oil production, oil discovery and production,” Eiseb said.
Relating to government’s solutions to rising local fuel prices, which increased by N$1.20 per litre for petrol and N$1.70 per litre for diesel this month, Eiseb said the Ministry will continue to turn to the National Energy Fund to cushion the blow for consumers. He warned that the fund’s use should not be seen as the first resort while the government looks into more lasting solutions to protect the consumer
“I want to emphasise that even the National Energy Fund, is a tool that needs to be used very sparingly and not be seen as a first resort to cushion consumers against rising oil prices. It’s really a tool that we need to use sparingly, especially in good times. We need to build that fund so that in difficult times, we are able to utilise that fund to cushion consumers against rising oil prices,” he said.
Qatar Energy, Shell, and TotalEnergies have discovered substantial oil reserves offshore Namibia in the Orange Basin, near Lüderitz, of which Namibia is expected to generate N$105.9 billion (U$5.6 billion) per annum in state revenue.
