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Namcor move fuels anger
THE National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) is in serious trouble with its other partners in the Kudu gas field and the energy sector after it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia’s gas and oil exploration heavyweight Gazprom.
The agreement will help Namcor access US$20 million and the Russian energy company will also assist them technically for oil and gas exploration.
However, Gazprom International Chief, Boris Ivanov, also announced that his company – through Gazprombank – was also very keen to get involved in the construction of an 800MW gas turbine power plant at Walvis Bay as part of the gas-to-power Kudu Gas project.
“It is quite a nice, sexy little project,” Ivanov said, adding that Gazprom would like to get involved as soon as possible.
Although Namcor Managing Director Sam Beukes was cautiously optimistic about the development and told The Namibian earlier that Gazprom’s involvement must still be negotiated, the announcement by the Russians have infuriated both NamPower and Tullow Oil who were excluded from the negotiations.
Tullow Oil has a 70 per cent share in the Kudu licence while Namcor only has a 10 per cent share. The remaining 20 per cent belongs to Itochu Corporation.
“They are very insignificant shareholders and have no mandate to talk on behalf of the rest of the group,” said one source.
A source at NamPower confirmed that they were arranging a media briefing together with Tullow Oil where Namcor is expected to explain who gave the Russian delegation the information as well as what their role was in the negotiations.
“We know that they are in financial trouble and needed an injection of around N$200 million but that’s not how you go about doing business,” one source said.
Beukes had earlier said that the agreement was the beginning of setting Namcor up to strengthen its balance sheet.
“For now it is a MoU to explore opportunities and substantive agreements will come with time, but Gazprom wants to play a bigger role in Kudu gas field,” Beukes said earlier.
The Kudu natural gas deposit, some 130 km off the southern coast of Namibia, is the country’s only commercial hydrocarbon deposit to date.
The deposit has proven natural gas reserves of over 40 billion cubic metres.
Gazprom subsequently announced on their website that the deal they signed with Namcor was to finance the construction of an 800 MW gas turbine power plant in Namibia.
“That left us fuming because Namcor has got nothing to do with energy generation apart from Kudu,” said a NamPower source.
NamPower Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba is also believed to be fuming while on a trip abroad.
“As a mineral resource base, there are plans to use gas from the Kudu field for the power plant. A considerable part of the electricity to be generated will be supplied to South Africa,” Gazprom said.
