Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo has said the discovery of Graff-1 deepwater oil will give Government a clear shot at reimaging the country’s economy in the best interest of all stakeholders.

In a joint media statement with Petroleum Commissioner in the ministry, Maggy Shino issued on Tuesday, Alweendo said when the time comes, the government would need to think boldly in structuring a recovery model that is in the best interest of the Namibian people and all stakeholders involved.

‘I congratulate Shell, Qatar Energy and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) on their recent oil discovery offshore Namibia. It gives us a clear shot at reimaging our economy,’ said Alweendo.

On her part, Shino said the Namibian Government is excited to enter a new era in the oil and gas exploration sector, which is a great milestone achieved within the Orange Basin.

‘We are looking forward to boundless cooperation with the joint venture partners to optimally progress this discovery which is operated by Shell Namibia Upstream B.V with 45 per cent equity, with the joint venture partners being Qatar Energy with 45 per cent and Namcor with 10 per cent,’ said Shino.

They were reacting to the oil discovery announcement made last week by Namcor and its partners, Shell Namibia and Qatar Energy.

The discovery of Graff-1 deep-water exploration light oil was made in both primary and secondary targets in the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia 270 kilometres from the town of Oranjemund. Drilling operations commenced in early December 2021 and were safely completed in early February 2022.

Namcor Managing Director Immanuel Mulunga said he hopes the discovery puts to rest doubts about the hydrocarbon potential of Namibia and opens a new dawn in the country’s future prosperity, adding that Namcor with its partners will perform extensive laboratory analyses to gain a better understanding of the reservoir quality and potential flow rates achievable in the coming months.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency