Namibia Aims to Become Africa’s Fifth Largest Oil Producer

Namibia is positioning itself to become one of Africa’s top five oil producers by 2035, with a target of producing an average of 500,000 barrels of oil per day, surpassing Egypt in the continent’s oil production rankings. According to Ebson Uanguta, interim managing director of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, the country plans to deploy four floating production storage and offloading units to achieve this ambitious goal.

Namibia’s oil prospects have been bolstered by several significant discoveries in its offshore waters, with estimates of up to 11 billion barrels of oil in potential reserves. Leading global energy companies such as Shell, TotalEnergies, and Qatar Energy are key investors in Namibia’s oil future, with first production expected by 2030.

Notably, Shell’s Graff discovery could hold as much as 1.7 billion barrels of oil and gas across three wells, while TotalEnergies’ Venus discovery is estimated to contain up to 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent. These discoveries have the potential to transform Namibia into a major player in the global oil market.