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Kudu field operator BW Energy has purchased a semi-submersible drilling rig, Leo, for $14m to be repurposed as a floating production unit (FPU) to supply a nearshore 420MW jack-up barge power plant. Gas from the 130 mcf/d capacity FPU will be dispatched to Elizabeth Bay by a 195km subsea 12-inch pipeline, BW said in a 25 August half-year results presentation.

Namibia-focused independent Impact Oil & Gas is staying tight lipped about industry speculation that it stands to gain a cool $1bn from the prospective sale of its 20% interest in Block 2913B offshore Namibia – the block where in February, operator TotalEnergies reported a light oil with associated gas discovery at the Venus-X1 well.

InnoSun Energy will develop a 5MW solar plant at the Trekkopje site north-east of Swakopmund, to supply power to Orano Mining Namibia’s Erongo desalination plant.

Canada’s Reconnaissance Energy (ReconAfrica) announced on 28 June the spudding of the 1819/8-2 well in northeast Namibia, the first in a four-well exploration programme in the frontier region.

The Namibian government is continuing to negotiate a contract with its preferred bidder, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, for the country’s first large green hydrogen (GH2) project.

Canada’s Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) has announced that its frontier onshore Kavango Basin acreage could hold more than 1.4 tcf of gas and almost 1bn barrels of oil, according to a review by independent analysts.

Anirep Aussenkjerr Solar One Namibia has secured a NAD193m ($12.3m) facility from the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) to finance the 20MW Khan solar plant.

Namibian Stock Exchange-listed Alpha Namibia Industries Renewable Power (Anirep) has secured a contract to build and operate an 18.5MW solar plant at Kokerboom in Keetmanshoop, with Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb as the off-taker.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct an oil and gas pipeline from Walvis Bay in Namibia to Lusaka in Zambia is expected to be signed in June, according to Zambia’a energy minister Peter Kapala.

TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné reaffirmed the French major’s commitment to oil and gas, saying they “will continue to be a significant source of cash”, during his Q1 2022 earnings call. Pouyanné also used the occasion to temper some of the recent Namibia upstream hype, stressed there would be no return to Mozambique LNG this year and outlined a divestment plan for some of Total’s Nigerian oil licences, while holding on to gas assets

Industry reports that TotalEnergies’ Venus discovery could be the world’s largest-ever deep-water discovery has triggered a wave of excitement in Windhoek and beyond about the game-changing nature of the find.    

With a tender for a utility-scale concentrated solar power plant likely to be launched this year, Namibia’s embrace of renewables is gaining momentum. It also offers fresh hope to advocates of CSP technology following past setbacks.

Alpha Namibia Industries Renewable Energy Power (Anirep)’s takeover of the 20MW Khan solar PV plant will triple the capacity of the energy infrastructural investment company’s solar projects in Namibia to 30.73MW.

Canada’s ReconAfrica has identified several prospects following the completion of a 2D seismic programme in the Kavango sedimentary basin in northeast Namibia. A spokesperson for the company told African Energy that data from the campaign had led to “the identification of multiple drilling prospects targeting commercial accumulations of oil and natural gas in conventional reservoirs.”

TotalEnergies’s Venus and Shell’s Graff discoveries have transformational potential for the offshore Orange Basin play – WoodMac suggests Venus could be the biggest-ever sub-Saharan oil discovery. This makes Namibia the focus of renewed global attention as the latest of Africa’s potential ‘Elephant’ producers, exciting a range of companies and potentially more work off South Africa.