Reports of TotalEnergies FID delay to 2027 unconfirmed - Amutse

Mines and energy minister Modestus Amutse says government has not been informed that TotalEnergies has pushed the final investment decision (FID) on its multibillion-dollar Venus oil project to 2027, as reported by international media and raised in parliament this week.

“If it has been moved to 2027, they have not communicated that to us. There is no confirmed date yet. All negotiations are going on well,” Amutse told Namibian Sun yesterday.

Nudo lawmaker MP Vetaruhe Kandorozu, speaking in the National Assembly this week, asked whether Namibia could still achieve first oil by 2030 if the investment decision slips into next year.

Kandorozu raised the matter after reports emerged that negotiations between government and TotalEnergies could result in the FID being delayed to 2027.

“This is a new report today about the negotiations between government and TotalEnergies over Venus. And it seems the time frame of the FID that was supposed to be this year has been postponed to next year,” he said.

“If the FID will be issued next year, maybe around September, will that dream of 2030 be realised?” Kandorozu asked.

He said he would submit the question in writing for Amutse to respond.

Reports of a possible 2027 FID have emerged as TotalEnergies and the Namibian government continue discussions over the terms governing the development.

South Korean business publication ChosunBiz reported on 7 September that the FID, previously expected in July, had been delayed.

The report said concerns had been raised at the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference that the FID “could be delayed until next year”, while government and TotalEnergies had “yet to finalise an agreement on financial terms”.

A second report by shipbuilding industry publication iMarine on 15 September went further, publishing a headline stating that the Venus FID had slipped to 2027.

TotalEnergies has not publicly confirmed either report.

'Clear plan'

In August, the company pushed back against suggestions that the decision could move into 2027.

At the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference, TotalEnergies Namibia's joint venture and development director, Carlos Menezes, said the company needed to conclude its discussions with the government soon.

“As everybody knows, the engagement has been ongoing for several months with the authorities: productive, constructive discussions," Menezes said.

"We need to finalise those discussions so that we can take advantage of the momentum of the offers we have in hand,” he added.

Asked about a Wood Mackenzie projection that the FID could move into 2027, Menezes was unequivocal.

“2027, that's not going to work. We really need to be moving soon on [the decision],” he said.

He also warned that contractor offers secured for the project could not remain open indefinitely and that prolonged delays could increase costs.

“The time is now. This is not an open-ended window,” Menezes said.

TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said in April that the company wanted to sanction Venus during 2026.

“The plan is clear, we want to sanction Venus this year,” he said during the company's first-quarter earnings call on 29 April.

Pouyanné also confirmed that TotalEnergies was discussing changes to Namibia's petroleum framework with government ahead of the development of what would be the country's first large ultra-deepwater oil project.

“There is a discussion with the government to amend a very old oil and gas law from the beginning of the 2000s, which has never been really used in Namibia,” he said.

He said ultra-deep water developments required amendments to the standard terms governing petroleum projects.

“These ultra-deep water projects require some amendments to the standard terms. This is what we work on today with them,” Pouyanné said.

Amendment bill

Namibia is separately seeking to amend the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Amendment Bill, which proposes transferring certain petroleum powers from the mines ministry and petroleum commissioner to the Presidency and officials of the new upstream petroleum unit in the Office of the President.

The bill remains before parliament and has not completed the legislative process.

Amutse told parliament that the amendment bill has never formed part of the negotiations with TotalEnergies.

A broader review of Namibia's upstream petroleum legal framework, which could result in further amendments, is also pending.

The Venus development, located in the Orange Basin, is planned to produce about 150 000 barrels of oil per day, with TotalEnergies targeting first oil in 2030.

The FID is also linked to the award of the project's floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) contract, for which South Korea's Hanwha Ocean and Dutch offshore specialist SBM Offshore are reportedly competing.

ChosunBiz reported that the FPSO order was expected to be finalised once TotalEnergies takes the FID.

SBM Offshore, during its second-quarter earnings call, described Venus as strategically important but said it would not reduce its expected rate of return to secure the project.

Neither Hanwha Ocean nor SBM Offshore has publicly confirmed that the FID has moved to 2027.

For now, the reported delay remains unconfirmed by TotalEnergies and, according to Amutse, has not been communicated to the Namibian government.