French energy group TotalEnergies is inching closer to making a final investment decision on its oil projects in Namibia, with South African banks lining up to finance some of the infrastructure, which is expected to turn the country into a significant oil and gas player.
The energy supermajor said on Tuesday that it remains “fully committed to the development of the Venus discovery and is working to secure all conditions enabling a potential final investment decision in 2026”.
The investment required is said to be in the region of $15bn to $20bn.
TotalEnergies discovered light oil and gas on the Venus prospect in 2022. The Venus 1 well is estimated to contain 5.1-billion barrels of oil, representing a significant milestone for Namibia’s oil production ambitions.
Nedbank CEO Jason Quinn in August met high-ranking Namibian government officials to reaffirm the lender’s commitment to the oil- and gas-rich country. Quinn was accompanied by Terence Sibiya, the group’s head of Africa regions.
“No conversation about Namibia or its prospects will be complete without mentioning oil and gas,” Quinn said after the visit, stating that opportunities in financing infrastructure in this regard are a priority for the bank.
Sim Tshabalala, the group CEO of Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender by assets, has said that oil and gas finds in Namibia could lift growth in that economy by as much as 7% in the next five years, with the country set to be the continent’s next biggest growth story.
Namibia was two months ago ranked as Africa’s No 1 foreign direct investment (FDI) destination in the 2025 Greenfield FDI performance index, which also ranked it second in the world. The index is published by fDi Intelligence, a specialist division of the Financial Times, and ranks countries based on their ability to attract FDI relative to the size of their economies.
According to the US International Trade Administration, if recent oil finds in Namibia prove to be commercially viable, Namibia could become a top 15 global oil producer by 2035, unlocking an unprecedented revenue windfall for the government.
In another vote of confidence in Namibia, TotalEnergies on Tuesday said it had concluded an agreement with Galp to enter as operator in the prolific PEL 83 licence, including the Mopane discovery. TotalEnergies will acquire a 40% operated interest in the PEL 83 licence holding, while Galp will acquire a 10% participating interest in the PEL 56 licence holding the Venus discovery.
This will see TotalEnergies become the operator of the two largest oil discoveries in Namibia.
“This transaction demonstrates also the strong confidence of TotalEnergies towards Namibia as a future oil-producing country. TotalEnergies will leverage its recognised operatorship track record to progress towards profitable and sustainable developments of both Venus and Mopane discoveries,” Patrick Pouyanné, chair and CEO of TotalEnergies, said in a statement.
“By enabling the creation of a producing hub in Namibia, we aim to achieve synergies that will create long-term value for both Namibia and the stakeholders. We are eager to keep building on our collaboration with the Namibian authorities in order to deliver both developments.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.