Otjozondjupa governor pushes for 51% oil stake, as Venus FID stalls

Otjozondjupa governor John //Khamuseb has called on government to eventually take a 51% controlling stake in Namibia's oil and gas projects, as TotalEnergies' long-awaited investment decision on the multibillion-dollar Venus development remains outstanding.

“We must move to the level of 51% from [Namibia], 49% to the foreigners,” //Khamuseb told the third national council and regional council's consultative conference in Otjiwarongo yesterday.

He said the people of Otjozondjupa do not agree with government’s current share in oil and gas and called for a 51% stake once exploration and processing projects reach the break-even stage.

TotalEnergies had targeted a final investment decision (FID) on Venus by mid-2026, but that date has passed.

The company's latest global strategy, released on Monday, still includes Namibia in its oil and gas growth plans beyond 2030 but gives no new date for the decision.

In Petroleum Exploration Licence 56 (PEL56), which contains Venus, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy each hold 35.25%, Namcor and Galp Energia each hold 10%, and Impact Oil & Gas holds 9.5%.

TotalEnergies estimates Venus holds about 750 million barrels of oil equivalent and has outlined a development that could produce about 150 000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, with first oil targeted for 2030.

In February, the company said Venus had been fully appraised, front-end engineering and design was complete, and competitive contractor bids had given it greater cost certainty. It said it was talking to the Namibian authorities ahead of the planned investment decision.

Discussions not done

In August, TotalEnergies Namibia's joint venture and development director, Carlos Menezes, said the company was technically ready to proceed but still needed to conclude discussions with government.

“2027, that’s not going to work. We really need to be moving soon on [the decision],” Menezes said at the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference.

TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné also told investors in July that contractors had been selected and the company was ready to take the investment decision once discussions with the Namibian government were finalised.

The issue was raised in parliament two weeks ago, and mines and energy minister Modestus Amutse told Namibian Sun that TotalEnergies had not officially informed the government that it had postponed the decision until next year.

The company's latest strategy neither confirms a postponement to 2027 nor provides another FID target.

TotalEnergies has, however, continued committing capital elsewhere. On 9 September, Pouyanné said the company and its partners would invest US$10 billion in Angola over the next five years to support production across several projects.

TotalEnergies is Angola's largest oil operator and produces about 450 000 barrels per day in the country. The planned investment includes the US$6 billion Kaminho deepwater project, about 100 kilometres offshore Angola in the Kwanza Basin. TotalEnergies and its partners took FID on Kaminho in 2024, with production scheduled to begin in 2028.

Global stakes

The company also announced this month that it would bring its Acacia-5 discovery in Angola's Block 17 into production just three months after its June discovery. The development is expected to add about 6 000 barrels per day through existing infrastructure.

TotalEnergies has also agreed to acquire 40% operated interests in two additional Angolan exploration blocks, 17/25 and 32/21.

On 26 September, TotalEnergies and its partners took FID on the full-field development of the Absheron gas and condensate field in Azerbaijan. TotalEnergies and Azerbaijan's state-owned Socar each hold 35%, while XRG holds 30%.

The development will increase gas production from 1.5 billion cubic metres annually to six billion cubic metres and condensate production from 12 000 to 47 000 barrels per day, with start-up expected in 2029. TotalEnergies did not disclose the project's investment value in its FID announcement.

The Angola and Azerbaijan projects are at different stages and operate under different fiscal, commercial and development conditions from Venus.

TotalEnergies is also expanding its position in Namibia after completing the acquisition of a 40% operated interest in PEL83, which contains the Mopane discovery. Galp retains a 40% interest, while Namcor and Custos Energy each hold 10%. TotalEnergies plans further appraisal work and has indicated a potential FID on Mopane in 2028.

In PEL91, TotalEnergies holds 33.09%, QatarEnergy 33.03%, Namcor 15%, Impact 9.5% and Galp 9.39%. The company is also seeking to acquire a 42.5% operated interest in PEL104 in the Lüderitz Basin. Upon completion, Petrobras would hold another 42.5%, Namcor 10% and Eight Offshore Investments Holdings 5%. The transaction remains subject to approvals.

Break-even

//Khamuseb's proposed 51% state interest would be much higher than Namcor's current participation in these licences.

The governor linked the proposed increase to projects reaching break-even but did not explain how the government would acquire or finance the additional interest or whether the proposal would apply to existing petroleum agreements.

During consultations on the National Upstream Petroleum Local Content Policy in Otjiwarongo last year, //Khamuseb called for government to receive at least 30% of profits from petroleum production companies.

His latest proposal shifts the call from a share of profits to majority ownership.

He also wants Namibian holders of exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs) to retain permanent stakes of between 35% and 40% in companies that eventually exploit minerals discovered under those licences.

He argued that EPLs issued to Namibians should not be sold before the resources are developed and called for more minerals to be processed locally to create jobs.