The mines ministry deputy minister, Kornelia Shilunga, says effective management of the Namibian oil and gas resources is a prerequisite to attaining a prosperous oil and gas industry.
In her keynote address at the second Namibia Oil and Gas Conference underway in Windhoek, Shilunga said international oil and service companies must be vital in ensuring local prosperity.
She also said Namcor must be a meaningful vehicle for state equity participation in petroleum licenses to ensure oil and gas prosperity for all Namibians.
The deputy minister explained that good governance of Namibia’s upstream petroleum sector is imperative to ensure that potential economic benefits related to exploiting the resources are shared fairly and equitably.
“We are fully aware that the emerging petroleum industry will bring both transformational opportunities and challenges.
“There are many examples worldwide whereby oil and gas exploitation has negative socio-economic and political impacts.
“Therefore, we should not take the resource curse lightly; we must learn from others’ experiences,” Shilunga said.
She added that the government should have clear national goals to ensure the sustainable exploitation of oil and gas resources.
According to the deputy minister, Namibia has considered several oil and gas management principles ideal for developing national petroleum policy.
Part of the considerations is that effective stewardship of the oil and gas resources should be prioritised in all petroleum activities in Namibia.
The discovered oil and gas should be exploited in such a manner to make Namibia energy independent.
“Our upstream oil and gas sector should be leveraged to fast-track industrialisation, economic diversification and job creation through the active participation of all Namibians in the sector’s value chain,” Shilunga added.
Additionally, the conservation of oil and gas resources should be prioritised by requiring petroleum license holders to reduce economic waste through optimum exploration strategy and depletion rate.
Furthermore, Namibians should ensure that oil and gas production does not distort our country’s economy, and that local value creation should be prioritised by ensuring that produced oil and gas are processed in Namibia as operationally and economically possible.
Shilunga said all oil and gas activities should prioritise conserving the social and natural environment.
“Flaring natural gas outside operational necessity should be prohibited in line with our existing petroleum legislation.
“Onshore natural gas processing should be prioritised to facilitate the long-term development of midstream and downstream industries,” she added.
The deputy minister pointed out that through state entities such as Namcor and Namport, the government should actively participate in developing critical common-use oil and gas infrastructures.
She said Namcor should safeguard the State’s commercial interest in all oil and gas activities, and gas revenues should be managed to improve the living standards of both current and future generations of Namibians.
