Oil in Namibia: Economic Opportunity or Overstated Potential?

The document examines Namibia's transition toward becoming an oil exporter, highlighting the gap between government growth targets and industry realities. While significant offshore discoveries have been made, the report warns that relying on fossil fuels may divert resources from sustainable development and renewable energy, especially as global demand declines and technical challenges persist.

• The development of the Venus field by TotalEnergies and partners involves drilling up to 40 deep-sea wells and using an FPSO vessel with a capacity of 160,000 BOE per day, with production expected to last approximately 20 years.
• Namibia's energy mix remains heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports, with diesel accounting for 43% and petrol 16% of the mix in 2022.
• The document recommends that Namibia prioritize sectors requiring less up-front capital, such as renewable energy, transport, logistics, and agriculture, and pursue industrialization through regional collaboration via the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and SADC members.

APA

Remmert, D. (2025). Oil in Namibia: Economic Opportunity or Overstated Potential? Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PPFF-2.0-Case-Study-Namibia.pdf

Chicago

Remmert, Dietrich. Oil in Namibia: Economic Opportunity or Overstated Potential? Climate Strategies, 2025. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PPFF-2.0-Case-Study-Namibia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Remmert |first1=Dietrich |title=Oil in Namibia: Economic Opportunity or Overstated Potential? |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=October 2025 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PPFF-2.0-Case-Study-Namibia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{remmert2025oil, author = {Remmert, Dietrich}, title = {{Oil in Namibia: Economic Opportunity or Overstated Potential?}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PPFF-2.0-Case-Study-Namibia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }