Rich Africa Consultancy founded the Namibia International Oil and Gas Conference as a bi-annual event in 2012.
The 2025 edition is the 7th and third, after the event was renamed the Namibia International Energy Conference.
There was no conference in 2016 and 2018 because of a global slump in oil prices followed by limited exploration activities.
RichAfrica Consultancy is a leading advisory firm dedicated to advancing sustainable energy strategies and innovation in Africa’s energy sector.
As the founder of the Namibia International Energy Conference, RichAfrica has been driving the energy conversation in the country since 2012.
The company empowers young professionals to become catalysts for change and field leaders through initiatives like the Future Energy Leaders Legacy Program.
The conference enhances collaboration, knowledge, and investment linkages between stakeholders to drive a greater understanding of the energy landscape as a catalyst for socio-economic development.
With the endorsement of the Namibian government, Rich Africa successfully hosted three conference editions and has attracted more than 800 participants.
The event has established itself as a credible platform where high-level decision-makers, industry leaders and experts convene to engage in meaningful dialogue around industry developments, commercial opportunities, strategic partnerships, and investment promotion.
The inaugural conference’s theme held at Windhoek Country Club and Resort was A Road to Discovery and Beyond.
The second Namibia International Oil and Gas Conference was held in 2014 under the theme Unlocking and Optimising our Resource Potential.
Speakers included the then mines minister, Isak Katali; trade minister Calle Schlettwein; petroleum commissioner Immanuel Mulunga; Director for Africa Oil and Gas Practice at IHS, Stanislas Drochon; NamPower Managing Director, Paulinus Shilamba; Energy Consultant at Trinidad and Tobago Anthony Paul; and Ernst & Young, Cameron Kotze.
Some sponsors then included Tullow Oil, Shell, Repsol, OMV, Murphy Lüderitz Oil Company, Pancontinental Namibia, NamPower, PWC and Namcor.
After a five-year hiatus, the Namibia International Oil and Gas Conference returned in 2019 under the theme Building Partnerships to Transform Africa’s Oil and Gas Industry.
The third edition was held at the Strand Hotel in Swakopmund.
Former mines minister Tom Alweendo, who delivered the keynote address, said about 18 Exploration wells had been drilled offshore Namibia with no major discovery but yielded an excellent geological understanding of the Namibian offshore margin.
Alweendo encouraged further investment in that space while we, the government, provided a conducive environment by ensuring a stable policy framework.
The two-day event covered themes and challenges relevant to the industry, from recent exploration activities, financing projects, petroleum infrastructure and logistics, fuel supply, refineries, creating an enabling environment, regional trends, building capacity, collaboration and lessons learned.
Prominent speakers and contributors who attended the event include Mulunga as Namcor’s managing director; African Energy Chamber chairperson NJ Ajuk; petroleum commissioner Maggy Shino; Standard Bank head of oil & gas for Southern Africa, Paul Eardley-Taylor; Director of Africa Oil and Gas, IHS Markit, Stanislas Drochon; Principal Consultant, Africa Oil Way Nosizwe Nokwe- Macamo; NNF Consultancy President Nelson Narciso; Petrofund CEO Nilian Mulemi; Belveder Advisory founding partner Guillaume Arditti; and Namcor acting executive for exploration and production Victoria Sibeya.
Due to Covid-19, there was no conference in 202 and 2021. The 4th edition, held in 2022, was under the theme The energy mix: positioning for investment, industrialisation and growth and under a new name – The Namibia International Energy Conference.
The event also came after news of massive oil discoveries in the Orange Basin.
In her welcoming address, Rich Africa founder and CEO Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni said the focus was to understand how to best leverage an energy mix as a catalyst for industrialisation in Namibia and the rest of the continent and to create an enabling environment to attract investment through collaboration.
Shimutwikeni also said the recent oil discoveries and Namibia’s drive to harness its renewable resources as well as to become a gateway into the SADC region meant that the energy industry is on the precipice of change, which could redefine the country’s industry and turn local and surrounding economies around.
Writing in the Foreword, Alweendo said Namibia is a growing hub when it comes to the generation of renewable energy.
According to Alweendo, Namibia’s abundant wind and solar power resources enable it to be at the forefront of green hydrogen development and progress towards greater energy independence.
He further said while this is in the pipeline, Namibia cannot cut off potential oil and gas resources that could assist in solving our challenges.
“Namibia has taken a pragmatic approach to the energy transition conversation of an “energy mix basket”, Alweendo said.
From 2022, the conference became an annual event.
Shimutwikeni said the move was timely, with the progress in developments in Namibia’s energy sector fast taking shape.
The 5th edition went under the theme Shaping the Future Towards Value Creation, which set Namibia’s roadmap for a just and sustainable energy transition.
“Namibia is now on the precipice of realising the potentially transformative economic value of the energy developments and discoveries in the country. We must keep the momentum on energy and related infrastructure conversations with all the role players front and centre of our evolving energy landscape,” Shimutwikeni said.
The 6th event in 2024 was under the theme, Reimagine Resource-Rich Namibia: Turning Possibilities in Prosperity.
The event sought to build on the success of the upstream market to connect new players to Namibia’s offshore acreage.
The event featured discussions on development strategies, untapped market opportunities, potential partnerships, and many more, driving deals and multilateral business.
Shimutwikeni said Namibia’s newfound energy resources present immense potential, and Namibians must strategically prepare to harness these resources’ full value chain.
She said the theme encapsulated a vision to create a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable future for all Namibians and to position the country as a leading energy hub.
The 2025 edition comes after a major shift in Namibia following the election of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and the relocation of the oil and gas directorate from the mines ministry to the President’s Office.
The mines ministry also has a new minister, Natangue Ithete, a new deputy, Gaudentia Krohne, and a new executive director, Ben Nangombe.
