Namibia’s timeline to become an oil-producing country by 2030 has hit a pause after the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) delayed plans to expand Lüderitz’s southern harbor, an essential project for the nation’s growing oil and gas sector.
The decision, Namport said, was due to uncertainty around the scope of work.
The authority had already invited proposals for a concession to build an oil and gas supply facility in Lüderitz.
But the process was suspended last week after concerns were raised about how the advertisement was structured.
“This setback will have an impact on set timelines for the project, but there is nothing we can do,” Namport Chief Executive Officer Andrew Kanime said.
Namibia has quickly become one of Africa’s most closely watched energy frontiers following massive offshore discoveries made by TotalEnergies SE and Shell Plc in 2022.
Estimates suggest the country could hold as much as 2.6 billion barrels of reserves, with exploration hotspots spanning the Orange, Lüderitz, Kavango, and Walvis basins.
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Just last week, reports revealed that TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is preparing for a new offshore drilling campaign in South Africa’s Deep Western Orange Basin, a stretch that extends into Namibian waters where major oil finds have been recorded.
According to consultancy firm SLR Consulting, Total’s South African subsidiary aims to drill up to seven wells about 211 kilometers (131 miles) from Saldanha Bay.
Namibia has yet to produce a single barrel of oil, but forecasts indicate commercial production could begin by 2030.
Upgraded port infrastructure is considered critical to making this possible, with Lüderitz playing a key role since it sits less than half the distance to the offshore reserves compared with Walvis Bay, Namibia’s main port, according to Bloomberg.
“The project will continue, I just can’t confirm when the bid will be advertised again,” Kanime said.
He added that because Lüderitz is the site of a historic German colonial army concentration camp, any repairs require both environmental clearances and heritage impact assessments before construction can move forward.
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Image Credit: Offshore Energy
