Namibia is looking to Guyana for guidance as it builds out its oil and gas industry, following major offshore discoveries and structural reforms under its new government.
In an exclusive interview with OilNOW on July 10, Kornelia Shilunga, Special Advisor on Oil and Gas to Namibia’s President, revealed that the southern African nation is undertaking a benchmarking visit in Guyana to learn best practices.
“The President (Her Excellency Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa), feels we need to put up a structure, and also to put up a legal framework that will govern that structure for us to be able to manage our oil and gas sector,” she said.
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Shilunga said the Namibian government is particularly interested in how Guyana has structured its sector, governed revenues, and managed development.
“We have met with the Minister of Natural Resources. We have met with the Minister of Finance. We were learning more on how revenue is accrued, how it is managed, how it is benefiting the Guyanese, and how it translates, really, to the transformational development in the country. And that was very, very interesting.”
Namibia has already approved a local content policy, Shilunga confirmed.
“It went through all the processes until it went to Cabinet,” she said. “What is left for us to do now is just to take it to the different regions of Namibia to explain to the Namibian people.”
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Shilunga noted Namibia already has a sovereign wealth fund, but intends to learn from Guyana how best to manage such a facility to benefit its citizens. She emphasized that Guyana and Namibia share long-standing diplomatic ties, which now provide a strong foundation for technical cooperation.
“When it comes to oil and gas, we are just going to build on the foundation that was created already by our forefathers and by the leaders that have led Namibia and Guyana,” she said. “Last year, there was a visit by the former Minister of Mines and Energy… also just to learn about the oil and gas.”
Shilunga underscored that Namibia’s vision for oil and gas is closely tied to national transformation, especially job creation and youth development.
“The President looks into it that especially more the first part of her government is to look into employment of the young people… about 500,000 jobs to be created,” she said.
Namibia’s development plan also includes vocational training, expansion of public health and education, and investment in agriculture and the creative industries.
Guyana and Namibia are expected to be pivotal exploration hotspots in the coming years. Major discoveries by Shell and TotalEnergies in 2022 kicked off Namibia’s exploration boom in the Orange Basin. This prompted comparisons to Guyana, where ExxonMobil has discovered over 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels. Majors have rushed to the area to grab up interests.
