Lüderitz has been abuzz with exploration activities of late since 2021/22 with multi-national entities engaging in drilling wells in the pursuit of finding crude oil approximately 162 nautical miles (300 kilometer’s) off the coast of the town within the Orange Basin. The oil probe in the second quarter of 2024, yielded an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and 2.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, a potential game changer within the sectors, if proven commercially viable. The first quarter 2025 witnessed two of the biggest players within the sector, namely Shell and Chevron having recently made announcements; that casted a dark shadow on the nations hopes of becoming an oil producing country.
The Lüderitz Town Council Public Relations Division, takes an in-depth look at the other players in the market, in particular the joint venture partnership between; TotalEnergies EP Namibia, QatarEnergy, Impact Oil and Gas and Namcor. These partners are currently engaged in the final stage of determination, on whether to commit to an investment or disinvestment.
THE GENESIS
TotalEnergies EP Namibia undertook an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in 2022, having applied for an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) to undertake exploration activities in License Block 2912, the contracted agency to undertake a study was an the environmental consultancy that specializes in the energy, mining & minerals, waste management, planning & development, infrastructure and industrial sector, namely the Namibian-based; SLR Environmental Consulting (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd. The consulting agency, hosted a public meeting in the fourth quarter of 2022 in Lüderitz at the Nest Hotel, to gauge stakeholder inputs into the envisaged exploration and appraisal well drilling and associated exploration activities. The ECC was renewed and amended in the second quarter of 2024, to acquire further detailed 3D seismic data anywhere across the full extent of the license blocks and to undertake surveys over multiple seismic survey seasons.
LOCAL EMPOWERNMENT
TotalEnergies EP Namibia, during the third quarter of 2023 enlisted the services of an auditing firm Deloitte; to undertake that is known as the National Industrial Baseline Survey, a comprehensive study that aimed to evaluate the readiness of the Namibian industry and workforce in supporting typical upstream oil and gas projects. This document was later launched by the Minister of Mines and Energy the Honorable Tom Alweendo (MP) in the fourth quarter of 2024, and became a part of the operational framework, the Honorable Minister had the following to say during the event, “let us make sure that, economic benefits that come from our natural resources must be spread far and wide to ensure that the average Namibian benefits from these resources.” The partners further undertook an Environmental Baseline Study in 2022, the survey included opportunistic observations of marine megafauna by marine mammal observations and passive acoustic monitoring.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC INVESTMENT
The socio-economic spin-offs of the exploration activities, were a massive boost to the Lüderitz economy with the re-introduction of flights between Windhoek and Lüderitz where a partnership with Fly Namibia introduced daily flights to the town in the second quarter of 2023. This witnessed the rise in business activities at the town as flights eased the burden of enduring the long drive and trade drastically increased in Lüderitz. TotalEnergies EP Namibia, further partnered with the Town Council in waste management and educational infrastructure projects, to the delight of the local community and the main beneficiaries, namely the students.
THE FINANCIAL INVESTMENT DECISION
The first quarter of 2025 witnessed TotalEnergies EP Namibia, following the Venus offshore discoveries in 2022 and the subsequent appraisal activities performed thus far, embark upon engineering studies on behalf of the partnership. These studies are to determine the viability of an offshore development that could lead to the production of the Venus field. The partners hosted a stakeholder’s engagement in the first quarter of 2025 to undertake a Strategic Environmental & Social Scoping exercise in Lüderitz, this exercise was meant to gather key issues of the possible future operations. Speaking to the Public Relations Division, during the engagement the Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP Namibia Mr. Laurent Roche, said; “this exercise forms a part of their annual stakeholders’ engagement with the purpose of keeping the community informed of the latest developments”.
The partners have drilled 5 wells thus far, and intend on drilling a further 30 to 40 wells {the size of Windhoek}, at a depth of 3000 meters during the 2025/26 period. The Financial Investment Decision once made, is estimated to be equivalent to Namibia’s Gross Domestic Product (estimated by the World Bank at the end of 2023 to be U$ 31 billion) and is estimated to increase the country’s GDP with 6 percent. The envisaged construction period is estimated to take 6 to 8 years offering 500 direct jobs and 5 000 induced employment opportunities, this period will witness the construction, drilling and installation of subsea equipment, utilizing what is known as the Floating, Production, Storage and Operations vessel, the FPSO can accommodate 160 personnel on the vessel. The production period of the Venus field is estimated at 20 to 25 years, employing 600 direct jobs and 7 000 induced jobs.
THE WAY FORWARD
Bourbon Logistics Supports the service provider that aids the TotalEnergies EP Namibia exploration, celebrated the coming of age of their operational base in Lüderitz during the third quarter of 2024. They held a ceremony to showcase their infrastructure base that achieved international standards to fully support the oil drilling exploration campaign and their 300 000-man hours without injuries for the past two years achievement. The service provider has engaged the Town Council for more land for the preparations of the additional drilling exercise of the partners, that will witness the 30 to 40 wells being drilled. The community of Lüderitz and the nation awaits the FID of the partners with eager anticipation.