NAMCOR Aims for 80% Stake in Namibia's Oil Exploration Blocks by 2039

NAMCOR, Namibia’s national oil company, is set to transition from a passive participant to a primary operator in oil exploration, with a strategic plan to increase its stake in exploration blocks from the current 10% to as much as 80% over the next 15 years, according to Interim Managing Director Ebson Uanguta.

“We want to see NAMCOR becoming an active operator," Uanguta said. "Doing the operation there themselves, going through all the necessary stages until production. By that time, NAMCOR possibly should be holding 80% in some of the blocks.”

Currently, NAMCOR holds a 10% non-carrying interest in most of Namibia’s oil and gas exploration projects. Uanguta emphasized that the shift to a direct operator role is part of NAMCOR’s broader long-term vision, which will require significant skill development and capital investment to support exploration and production activities.

“We want NAMCOR to become an active operator. So far, we are only passive,” he added, citing a lack of resources and critical skills as the main hurdles. “But in our vision, in 15 years, we should be able to become an active operator.”

Uanguta also highlighted ongoing efforts to expand NAMCOR’s onshore exploration activities, particularly in the Okavango Basin, which he said offers promising prospects for both offshore and onshore hydrocarbon resources.

“Our ongoing drilling activities in the Okavango Basin represent promising prospects for hydrocarbon resources,” Uanguta noted.

This strategic shift follows calls for Namibia’s government to increase its stake in oil and gas projects. In 2022, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources recommended that the government hold a 51% share in petroleum sector ventures through NAMCOR.

Recent significant oil discoveries in Namibia, including Graff-1X, Venus-1X, Jonker-1X, and Lesedi-1X, have attracted major international players such as Shell, Qatar Energy, Total, and Impact, with NAMCOR as a key partner.