Energy industry leader Shakwa Nyambe has called for urgent reforms to accelerate Namibia’s transition from oil and gas exploration to full-scale production.
Speaking at the third Namibia Oil and Gas Conference in Windhoek on 13 August 2025, Nyambe urged government to establish an independent upstream petroleum unit, review the petroleum legal framework, finalise local content laws, develop a national communication strategy, and resume the awarding of petroleum licences to maintain investor confidence and exploration momentum.
The annual Namibia Oil and Gas Conference, organised by the Economic Association of Namibia in partnership with the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR), serves as the country’s main platform for policy dialogue, investment promotion and industry networking in the petroleum sector.
This year’s edition, held at the Mercure Hotel under the theme “From Exploration to Action: Positioning Namibia as the Next Energy Frontier”, brought together government officials, oil company executives, service providers, financiers and community representatives to review recent discoveries and outline development priorities.
Nyambe, Managing Partner of SNC Incorporated and President of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN), said Namibia’s oil and gas sector has been transformed since 2022, when Shell’s Graff and TotalEnergies’ Venus discoveries in the Orange Basin ended decades of unsuccessful exploration following Chevron’s Kudu gas find in 1974.
Since then, 13 deepwater wells have been drilled, yielding 10 discoveries, including Venus and Mopane, both declared commercial.
Citing Wood Mackenzie data, Nyambe said Namibia’s licensed offshore acreage covers about 220,000 square kilometres. NAMCOR holds the largest share at 30,000 km², followed by Eco Atlantic with 28,000 km² and ExxonMobil with 20,000 km². Namcor typically retains a 10–15% equity stake in most blocks, with the option to increase participation.
Wood Mackenzie estimates Galp Energia holds the most recoverable resources at 1.644 billion barrels of oil equivalent, followed by QatarEnergy with 1.327 billion and TotalEnergies with 1.117 billion.
TotalEnergies’ Venus is advancing toward a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) development, while Galp’s Mopane is undergoing appraisal and potential farm-down.
Nyambe described Namibia’s fiscal regime as one of the most competitive in Africa, with a 5% royalty, 35% corporate income tax and a progressive Additional Profits Tax linked to returns. These terms, he said, remain attractive in both low and high oil price environments.
Upcoming drilling activity includes Rhino Resources’ Volans-1X well, BW Energy’s Kharas prospect, TotalEnergies’ Olympe prospect and a Galp-operated well in early 2026. Final investment decisions are expected in late 2026 for Venus and the Kudu gas field, with Mopane’s schedule to follow further appraisal.
Nyambe warned that Namibia faces challenges including ultra-deepwater drilling at depths of 3,000 metres, harsh offshore conditions, high gas-to-oil ratios and a limited domestic gas market.
He proposed targeted incentives and strategic partnerships to overcome these obstacles, adding that stable policies, transparent licensing, infrastructure investment and skills development are essential if Namibia is to realise its ambition of becoming a major African energy hub.
