Edgar Brandt
Windhoek-Great advancement has been made towards the realisation of the much-anticipated Kudu Gas-to-Power project as BW Kudu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based BW Offshore, has formally taken over as the upstream operator on the licence with a 56 percent working interest while the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia retains 44 percent interest in the Kudu licence. This was confirmed by Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Kornelia Shilunga, on Tuesday during her ministry’s budget motivation speech.
BW Offshore has now started working with government, Namcor, NamPower, large infrastructure investors and other stakeholders to get this massive project to its final investment decision. Shilunga noted that following a review process, which began in July 2017 and which has been informed by current regional power market dynamics, Kudu project stakeholders have made a decision to re-size the Kudu power station to 442 MW, requiring 60 million standard cubic feet per day over a 25-year gas sales agreement. “The lower gas offtake over a longer concession will make the Kudu power station a better fit within NamPower’s generation needs and financial capabilities,” said Shilunga.
Immanuel Mulunga, managing director of the National Petroleum Corporation, recently said the Kudu gas project will play a fundamental role in shaping the energy dynamics of Namibia and strengthen its international standing.
“The Kudu Gas-to-Power project is a key strategic power generation project for Namibia, which will significantly reduce reliance on imported power while at the same time accelerating economic development,” he said.
The Kudu gas field, which was discovered by Chevron in 1974 approximately 170 km off the Namibian coast, needs gas to be produced by a floating production unit before being exported by pipeline to a 885 MW gas-to-power plant onshore.
Since the discovery of the resource up to seven appraisal wells have been drilled by various oil companies including Shell and Tullow that subsequently withdrew from the project.