Namibia’s government has confirmed it will soon lift its moratorium on new petroleum exploration licence applications, but a conspicuous absence of a firm date is drawing pointed warnings from industry players who say time is working against the country’s ambitions to build a world-class offshore oil sector.
Louise Hangero, Petroleum Inspector at the government’s Upstream Petroleum Unit, told delegates at the Namibia International Energy Conference in Windhoek that the freeze would end “soon enough,” without disclosing a specific timeline. The moratorium — introduced following a 2024 licensing round to allow a review of existing work commitments and licensing transparency — was originally set to expire in March 2025 but was extended indefinitely.
Why Timing Matters
NAMCOR New Ventures Manager Saave Nakashole warned that blocks awarded today take roughly 15 years to reach commercial production. Every month without a concrete reopening date pushes Namibia’s production pipeline further into the future. NAMPOA Executive Director Festus Hangula put the stakes plainly: “There are already targets to reduce oil consumption by 2050. If you are delaying the time of actually starting to explore, you may be getting there at the time when people are no longer comfortable investing in exploration — and we will regret it 20 or 30 years from now.”
Chevron Country Manager Beatrice Bienvenu echoed the urgency, citing a clear path to lifting the moratorium as essential for companies to commit long-term capital. Namibia’s upstream sector is currently governed by the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act of 1991 — legislation that predates deepwater development in the Orange Basin. The Petroleum Amendment Bill, tabled in parliament in February 2026, represents the most significant legislative update in over three decades. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called for its urgent approval.
Delegates at the conference held up Guyana — with 33 offshore discoveries and five FPSOs — as the model Namibia should be targeting. Namibia has made comparable opening discoveries with Venus, Mopane, and Azule Energy’s PEL 85 finds all logged within a four-year window.
Empowering Local Businesses for the Oil Boom
In a parallel development aimed at ensuring Namibians benefit from the anticipated oil boom, a local suppliers’ workshop brought together Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to equip them for participation in the upstream oil and gas sector. The workshop, opened by Industries, Mines and Energy Minister Modestus Amutse, covered tendering procedures, qualification criteria, health and safety expectations, and financial readiness.
PetroFund CEO Nillian Mulemi said the development of the upstream petroleum sector represents “not only an economic opportunity but a national responsibility to ensure that the benefits of this industry are broadly shared and that Namibians are active participants across the full value chain.”
Sources: prospect-intel.com, namibiaoilandgas.com