Five oil drilling projects are set to commence in Namibia next year, the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s Petroleum Commissioner, Maggy Shino, has revealed.
“We are expecting to have five wells that will be drilled in 2024 offshore in the Orange Basin,” Shino told the recently held African Energy Week.
She said preparations and logistics are underway for drilling new wells, noting that “Total’s Deepsea Mira rig departed from Bergen, Norway, at the beginning of April 2023, and it is expected to reach Namibia on November 15. This rig is an enhanced and extended CS 60 E harsh environment design semi-submersible delivered by Hyundai Heavy in South Korea.”
To enhance exploration further, she revealed government’s plans to acquire a 3D volume for onshore prospecting.
Shino said Namibia is actively seeking investors to unlock its oil and gas potential, including those with substantial resources and those possessing specialized technologies tailored to the region’s unique challenges.
“We are open for business,” she said.
This comes as Namcor told the conference that it is progressing plans to further develop the country’s oil and gas sector to meet ongoing energy demands and to eradicate energy poverty, with the company setting its sights on drilling two gas and oil wells in collaboration with international oil companies in the fourth quarter of 2023 and into the first quarter of 2024.
“With four major discoveries already under our belt, Namibia holds great potential for further developments in oil and gas, attracting other international oil companies (IOCs) like Shell and Total,” Victoria Sibeya, Executive Upstream Exploration at Namcor said.
Namibia expects the first oil from major offshore finds by 2030.
