Parliament is set to hold hearings over the impact of oil and gas exploration currently being carried out by Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) in the Kavango.
This will be the first time that Parliament engages the communities in areas where the drilling is being carried out, after some community members and Environmentalists across the world have criticized the oil exploration company’s presence in the Kavango region, stating that it could cause irreparable damage.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) earlier this month called on Botswana and Namibia to increase scrutiny of RiconAfrica’s oil and gas plans in the Okavango Delta.
“The hearings are centered on the impact of oil and gas exploration activities on the environment and the inhabitants of the two regions,” Parliament Spokesperson David Nahogandja said.
According to Parliament, the public hearings which will be conducted in Kavango East and West,
The Canadian oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon exploration and development in Namibia and Botswana, has been conducting oil drilling at Kawe village, in the Kavango East.
ReconAfrica through its exploration in the country, is hoping to discover the world’s largest and last ever onshore oil discoveries, after the company bought up licences to conduct exploratory drilling in 35,000 square kilometres across both Namibia and Botswana.
According to the company’s conclusions, there could be up to 120 billion barrels of crude oil lying beneath an area roughly the size of Belgium.
ReconAfrica has a 90% interest in a petroleum exploration license in NE Namibia with National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia owning the remaining 10%, covering the entire Kavango sedimentary basin, as well as a 100% interest in petroleum exploration rights in NW Botswana over the entire Kavango basin in the neighboring country.
