By:Staff writer
The fifth edition of the Namibia International Energy Conference is set to unite Namibian energy leaders and industry professionals with global partners to discuss challenges and opportunities within the country’s evolving landscape.
Scheduled for 25-27 April in Windhoek, it will be held under the theme ‘Shaping the Future of Energy Towards Value Creation’
African Energy Chamber (AEC)will facilitate Namibian and African energy stakeholders to gather and engage with global counterparts and discuss ways to fast-track energy developments for energy security and economic expansion.
The emergence of Namibia’s oil and gas industry has revitalized Africa’s upstream sector with TotalEnergies and Shell making giant discoveries in the Venus and Graff-1 prospects in the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia in 2022.
Through high-level panel discussions and exhibitions, the Namibia International Energy Conference will focus on how Namibia’s vast oil and gas resources can be translated into tangible socioeconomic benefits for the local economy and people while driving regional energy security and the global energy transition.
“We are honored to be part of this drive to attract more investment into Namibia and at the same time driving of local content and opportunities for working men and women in Namibia. This conference has become a place where energy investment and partnership deals aimed at accelerating Namibia’s energy industry will be signed. Namibia has created an enabling environment for investment to flow into the country and has a respectable team managing its energy Ministry under Minister Tom Alweendo and Namcor that has given confidence to investors, so I am not surprise to see energy companies wanting to invest in Namibia,” stated NJ Ayuk, the executive chairman of the AEC.
With the monetisation of oil and gas from the Venus and Graff-1 discoveries anticipated to bring up to $5.6 billion in government revenues and double the Namibian economy, a new era of GDP growth on the back of hydrocarbon resources’ development and exploitation has risen for Namibia. In addition, with state utility Nampower exporting over 72% of its electricity to meet growing energy demand and a significant share of the Namibian population living without access to electricity, Namibia’s oil and gas reserves have a huge role to play in alleviating energy poverty and ensuring independence while improving the environmental sustainability of the country’s power industry.
Furthermore, Namibia’s massive green hydrogen potential, owing to the vast renewable energy and gas resources which remain untapped, has positioned the southern African country as a global energy hub with international markets including Germany directing huge investment in the country and rallying towards grabbing a share of the market to meet growing demand.
“Namibia has a huge role to play in stabilizing energy supply and ensuring affordability across the region – as we seek to make energy poverty history in Africa by 2030. Globally, we are targeting economic expansion and a just and inclusive energy transition, in which oil and gas resources will be vital,” Ayuk concluded.
In this regard, the Namibia International Energy Conference, as the official meeting place for Namibian energy policymakers and companies with regional and global stakeholders, aims to heighten investments across Namibia’s oil, gas and green hydrogen landscapes and entire energy value chain. With the government of Namibia seeking to accelerate foreign direct investments to drive its energy agenda, the Namibia International Energy Conference is the ideal platform for investment flows in energy to be maximised.