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WEST AFRICA
Outcrop on plateau
Brief history of the country
Namibia (the Republic of Namibia), borders the Atlantic Ocean on its west coast, Zambia and Angola in the north, Botswana in the east, and South Africa in the south and east.
The San, Herero and Nama were overrun by Bantus (Ambos) in the 14th century. The Portuguese arrived in 1485 but did not claim the area. In the 1870s Orlam clans moved into the south, clashing with the Herero.
Traders from Germany and Sweden had settled the coast and Germany established a protectorate (German South-West Africa) in 1884, although the British annexed the harbour at Walvis Bay. From 1904 the Germans brutally subjugated local tribes. After German defeat in World War 1 the country was mandated to the UK, through South Africa.
In 1948 South Africa began to apply apartheid, designating areas as homelands and from 1966 The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) began a guerilla war against them. The UN then assumed responsibility, calling the country Namibia but South Africa maintained its de facto rule.
The UN went on to recognise SWAPO and Namibia finally obtained independence from South Africa in 1990 (with Walvis Bay following in 1994) and Namibia exchanged white minority rule for a stable democracy.
Agriculture, tourism and mining now form the basis of its economy.
Oil and gas summary
Namibia is situated between the Namib and Kalahari deserts consisting of 5 geographical areas. The Central Plateau, with the highest point at Königstein at 2,606m, runs from north to south bordered by the Skeleton Coast in the northwest.
The Namib Desert and its coastal plain is a broad expanse of gravel plains and sand dunes in the west bordered by the Orange River to the south. The Great Escarpment, rising to the east is a rocky plain adjacent to the Kalahari Desert extending into South Africa and Botswana. The Kalahari, while known as a desert, has a variety of localised environments, including some green areas. Finally the Bushveld in north-eastern Namibia lies along the Angolan border and in the Caprivi Strip.
There is currently no oil or gas production in Namibia. The first offshore exploration took place during the late 1960s and early 1970’s. One well was drilled by Chevron in 1973 which discovered the Kudu gas field in the southern Orange basin. No further exploration was carried out by foreign companies until after Namibia became independent in 1990 but Swakor (now NAMCOR) had drilled appraisals on Kudu confirming its size. Development has been delayed due to lack of a gas outlet. It may eventually be developed for local markets and those in South Africa.
An open licensing system was adopted in 1999 although exploration only picked up from 2008 with seismic surveys over the western deeper water margin. Cretaceous fans are the main target for oil with sub-salt reservoirs also having potential. Six exploration wells were drilled confirming the presence of lower Cretaceous source rocks and clastic and carbonate reservoirs but failed to locate commercial accumulations of oil or gas.
Exploration continued in deep waters over 2,000m in the Orange Basin and in 2022 a number of large oil discoveries were made. The basin is now regarded to have significant potential. Offshore oil production is forecast to begin by 2030.
There may be onshore potential for CBM, shale gas and even oil in the Kavango Basin but none is currently forecast. The Kavango Basin has been cited as potentially containing the last major onshore oil discoveries on Earth.
West Africa
NAMIBIA
Map and National Flag
Capital
Population
Land area (sq kms)
Oil prod (000s b/d)
Gas prod (bcm/yr)
Oil cons (000s b/d)
Gas cons (bcm/yr)
Windhoek
2.2 mm
824,268
None
None
25.5
None
Namibia is a semi-presidential democratic republic, whereby the President elected for a 5-year term limited to 2 terms, is head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the Government and a bicameral Parliament.
The government is headed by the prime minister and a cabinet appointed by the president. The 78-member National Assembly is elected for a 5-year term.
The 26-member National Council, elected for a 6-year term is advisory. Regional Councils in 13 regions elect 2 representatives to serve on this body.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) oversees the industry with the Directorate of Petroleum Affairs responsible for petroleum resources.
NAMCOR is the NOC with the mandate to explore and produce oil and gas and regulate foreign companies.
NAMIBIA: TECTONIC ELEMENTS
Globalshift.co.uk
(source: Historia Con Mapas)
NAMIBIA: BLOCKS
Globalshift.co.uk
(source: Global Petroleum