In the era of global active pursuit of energy transformation, Namibia, located in southwestern Africa, is in the joy of ‘ first prize ‘.Recently, Galp Energia stated that the Mopane oil field offshore Namibia may contain at least 10 billion barrels of oil.

 

In early 2022, ExxonMobil and Hess announced that 15 of the 17 exploration wells off the coast of Namibia have confirmed commercially valuable oil and gas discoveries. In the same year, Total Aurelia Ti discovered light crude oil in the Venus exploration area of the Orange Basin in Namibia; Shell also said it had made a huge oil discovery in the course of its exploration. The two energy giants truly recognize that the Namibian offshore oil resources with high commercial value, and reserves may reach billions of barrels! This figure immediately makes the oil and gas industry stage spotlight on Namibia, but also more attractive to oil and gas giants to come here to explore. Like some big oil and gas companies, Chevron, Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas, Galp Energia, Rhino Resources, etc.have also joined the oil and gas exploration work.

 

As of April this year, Portuguese Galp Energia stated that it had completed the first phase of exploration of the Mopane oil field offshore Namibia and estimated that the oil field may contain at least “10 billion barrels” of oil. After “1 billion barrels”, there is another “10 billion barrels”, which is a tenfold increase! It instantly stirred up the entire oil and gas industry around the world. It was also another tens of billions of surprises after the oil discovery in Guyana. In the words of the chairman of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, “After more than 30 years of exploration, we finally hit the jackpot.” In fact, Namibia’s oil exploration goes back more than 30 years and can be traced back to the 1970s. However, at that time, people still had the stereotype of Namibia as an “oil-free country in Africa” and “not a drop of oil”. After trying to no avail, they chose to give up and went to Angola, Namibia’s neighbor. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology and the full realization by various countries that oil, as a non-renewable energy source, existing oil fields alone will never meet the future needs of the market, it is imperative to increase the exploration and development of potential oil and gas blocks. . So to be precise, Namibia’s “first prize” can be said to have taken half a century of hard work.

 

Director of upstream research at Wood Mackenzie, said in November last year that “the Namibia project may become the core asset of the oil giant.” Nowadays, the discovery of 10 billion barrels of oil offshore Namibia has completely given the entire oil and gas industry a “stimulant” shot. Chevron plans to drill 5 exploration wells and 5 appraisal wells in the fourth quarter of this year; Total Energy and Qatar Energy will expand the exploration scale of oil and gas resources in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia; Canadian oil and gas company ReconAfrica also plans to drill 5 exploration wells and 5 evaluation wells in the fourth quarter of this year. The first exploration well Naingopo was drilled in Namibia’s Damara Fold Belt in March… It is understood that Galp, which holds 80% of the shares of Petroleum Exploration License No. 83 (PEL 83), acquired the new Mopane oil field. At the same time as the source of income, it is likely to choose to sell some shares to attract other investors to participate in Namibia oil and gas development projects. Of course, as the “new darling” of the future oil and gas industry, Namibia will have an impact on the oil and gas industry beyond simply adding a few barrels of oil. Especially in the past two years, geopolitical conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Palestine-Israel war, and the heated Iraq-Israel conflict some time ago have greatly increased the instability and insecurity of global oil and gas supply. It is also because of the instability of the international situation and the uncertainty or even reduction on the supply side that international oil prices have shown slight fluctuations but an overall upward trend. Many countries and oil alliance organizations such as OPEC+ have also taken corresponding measures to stabilize oil prices as much as possible. It is under such a situation that tens of billions of barrels of oil were discovered offshore Namibia. Although it has not yet been fully commercialized, as a future oil-producing country, it plays a key role in stabilizing the morale of the oil and gas industry. Energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie predicts that “Namibia’s oil economy may be very strong, and oil and gas companies can make money even if oil prices are as low as $40 per barrel.” Such low costs mean that even if global oil and gas demand declines in the next 30 years, Namibia can become an important profitable asset for the entire oil and gas industry. Based on this discovery, some people also predict whether Namibia will join the OPEC+ organization. After Angola and other countries withdrew from OPEC+, resulting in OPEC+ production cuts of about 1.1 million barrels per day, the addition of Namibia, a new baby, may contribute to the development of the OPEC+ alliance. But it is still unknown.

 

Now is an era when the global oil and gas industry is pursuing energy transformation. The exploration results of oil and gas resources have added a beautiful “landscape” to the city of Namibia. Prior to this, Namibia also actively developed new energy sources based on its abundant solar and wind energy resources. The Namibian government is also very clear that a strong country cannot be separated from the development of energy. Oil and gas resources need to be developed, and new energy sources must also be developed. What’s more, the current development of new energy is also a general trend. Namibia has also seen this and strives to develop new energy business. Gradually, it actively develops new energy industries such as green hydrogen and green ammonia, and regards them as a powerful tool to improve poverty, improve employment and other issues in its own country. It has also jointly established the African Green Hydrogen Alliance with South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and Mauritania, and is discussing cooperation with Chinese clean energy companies. A green hydrogen manufacturing plant in cooperation with French companies will also be put into production this year… In Namibia Under the guidance of policies that focus on both oil, gas and new energy, Namibia is fully capable of taking off the label of “oil-free country” and will become a highlight in the global energy industry.