OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said although Namibia expects billions of barrels from the Orange Basin, the country has just scratched the surface of its hydrocarbon basins.
In his pre-recorded address on Wednesday to the Namibia International Energy Conference, Al Ghais said OPEC would be happy to intensify cooperation with Namibia across a broad range of fronts.
“My message is that OPEC stands ready to support Namibia in this exciting new chapter in this development,” he said.
He added that OPEC is excited about a potential partnership between OPEC and Namibia and encourages future investors to consider Namibia and its abundant potential.
According to Al Ghais, OPEC is excited about a potential future partnership with Namibia.
Al Ghais added that Namibia’s full potential for natural resources can only be realised with adequate investment.
“This is a priority that OPEC shares,” he said.
The OPEC head of the Energy Studies Department, Dr Abderrezak Benyoucef, told the conference that population growth will lead to global oil demand and various industries’ expansion.
Benyoucef, who discussed the World Oil Outlook, said population growth rose from 8 billion in 2022 to 9.5 billion in 2045.
He said this means the working age and urbanisation will increase, and more power and energy will be needed.
“We see that oil will retain the largest share of the energy mix by 2045. Transportation will lead oil demand increase followed by petrochemicals,” he said.
Benyoucef added for Africa to meet demand, it must increase capacity by more than three million barrels per day.
