Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo will be joined by Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber NJ Ayuk on Friday, 15 May 2020, for a free webinar that will be hosted under the theme: ‘The Future of the Namibian Energy Industry’. The webinar, which is an online seminar, will be moderated by Africa Oil and Power Field Editor Thomas Hedley, and lawyer and energy specialist Gawie Kanjemba.
Continuing its Africa energy series webinars, the African Energy Chamber will present the exclusive webinar with Alweendo, which will be open to the public and it will explore the future of Namibia’s energy industry in the context of the current global climate.
As 2020 was planned to be a strong year for exploratory drilling in Namibia, the conversation is slated to look at the state of the country’s upstream industry and its development potential.
In light of Namibia’s push to develop a sustainable and clean energy industry, participants will also discuss the country’s key energy infrastructure and power projects with a particular focus on gas-to-power and renewable energy.
“In Namibia particularly, after 30 years of independence, we have grown the economy over tenfold and remain one of the countries with the highest GDP per capita in southern Africa,” said Tom Alweendo. “Exploring resources like oil and gas can translate into a tool for transforming the economy even further. The shareholders of Namibian resources are the Namibian people, it is thus important to work with organisations like the Africa Energy Chamber and Africa Oil & Power to map out a future that speaks best for Africa,” Alweendo added. “Our next Africa energy series of webinars takes us to a true African energy frontier and we are honoured that Hon Tom Alweendo is joining us in this conversation,” declared Ayuk, the Africa Energy Chamber’s executive chairman.
“Namibia has a tremendous potential for energy investments across the value-chain and should not be overlooked when it comes to building a sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa,” Ayuk added. Since major international oil companies scaled-down their interests in Namibia’s offshore, a number of leading independents came on board and invested in exploration, raising hopes to see world-class discoveries in the near future.
These independents notably include Chariot Oil & Gas, Tullow Oil, Africa Energy Corp, AziNam, BW Energy, Chariot Oil & Gas, Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas, Global Petroleum, Impact Oil & Gas, Maurel & Prom and Tower Resources.
Namibia is of course also home to the giant Kudu gas field, where 1.3 Tcf was discovered in 1974. The block is currently operated by BW Energy, who remains committed to finding a viable commercial development option for the field. Kudu’s development is seen as key to resolving the energy crisis in Namibia and the region and has tremendous potential for developing strong gas-to-power capacity.