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Namibia and South Africa are two of the world’s most unequal societies in terms of income and wealth distribution, with Gini index scores of 59.1 and 63, respectively. Together with Zambia, they are three members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) among the four most unequal countries globally.

▪️The recent oil discovery in Namibia could help to double its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040. And it could shape not only the country’s own development but also benefit the SADC as a whole. Successful exploration and management of oil revenue in Namibia would help solving socio-economic problems of the region.

▪️Namibia’s oil potential is now estimated to be greater than that of the US Eagle Ford Shale Basin, which has made the US once again net oil exporter.

▪️In mid-December 2022, the Deepsea Bollsta semi-submersible drilling rig, leased by Shell from Northern Ocean, began drilling the Jonker-1 high-profile well on block 2913A in the Orange Basin.

▪️The Graff and La Rona light oil fields discovered by Shell last year. Now specialists have successfully explored a new geological complex and reached a different oil horizon.

▪️In the Orange Deepwater Basin, TotalEnergies and Shell made major discoveries over the past year, sparking industry interest in offshore Namibia.

▪️The main discovery of the last year for TotalEnergies is the Venus field.

It is located about 325 km off the coast of Namibia at a depth of 3 km. If the asset is ever put into commercial operation, it will be the deepest-sea development in the world.
Shell and Total plan to continue their large-scale appraisal and exploratory drilling campaigns this year.

▪️Chevron and BW Energy are also entering offshore Namibia projects. They plan to launch major exploration drilling campaigns this year, currently refining seismic and drilling sites. Canadian Sintana Energy has extended its PEL 87 license for oil exploration offshore Namibia.

🔺The global geological community is looking forward to the results of the evaluation of the multi-billion dollar discoveries in the Orange Basin and the continuation of deep-sea exploration offshore Namibia. In the wake of full-scale global energy crisis such projects could substantially diminish its unpleasant consequences.