Totalenergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné has hinted that the company could make its final decision on whether to pump N$279 billion into a Namibian oil block in October, calling the decision “a matter of weeks”.
The international oil company discovered oil off the coast of Namibia in 2022 and called the discovery “Venus”.
Total previously estimated it could cost around U$17 billion (about N$278.5 billion) to turn Venus into a producing oil field.
Total and the Namibian government have been negotiating terms for months, with a final decision originally expected by the end of July.
Pouyanné, who has been to Namibia at least twice this year to meet president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitah at State House as part of ongoing talks, told investors on Monday that he believes the Venus project is progressing well.
“There is a progressing discussion with the [Namibian] authorities and I’m optimistic that everybody wants to make that sanction [decision].
It’s a matter of weeks, but we have to be patient,” Pouyanné said during Monday’s investor day.
He said the output from the Venus project, once fully producing, is now expected to be 160 000 barrels of oil per day.
“The project has good returns on high prices.
We need to protect it at lower prices,” he said.
The Venus oilfield is technically complex.
However, Pouyanné said the necessary capital expenditure is “in line with [Total’s] expectations”.
On the same day as Pouyanné’s presentation to investors, Total began advertising for six new middle-management roles in its upstream oil and gas unit in Namibia.
Although an announcement about Total’s final decision has not been made, industry insiders say expanding Namibian operations shows the company is preparing itself to begin work as soon as the investment decision is taken.
The advertised positions include a local content manager, head of social procurement and a communications manager.
Energy specialist Jackson Nangolo tells The Namibian that this might be a sign of movement on the company’s final investment decision.
“This is my personal opinion, but [they] wouldn’t take an uncalculated risk. This shows some level of commitment and we can only hope good news is coming,” Nangolo says.
He says the position of local content manager is particularly interesting.
“The local content policy was just workshopped.
They must want someone in-house to look at that policy closely,” he says.
The Namibian understands that Total is also preparing to move some of its staff with specific high-level management and technical skills to Namibia in the coming months.
In countries like Nigeria where Total operates in upstream petroleum, the company employs close to 2 000 people.
Total’s decision could be a game changer for Namibia’s economy.
The cost to build out the Venus project is already equal to Namibia’s entire gross domestic product (GDP).
According to Bank of Namibia governor Ebson Uanguta, the financial flows into the country will have significant macroeconomic impacts on the country.
In addition to direct effects through tax revenues from oil, the industry also has the potential to fund greater industrialisation in Namibia.
“Naturally, it creates an opportunity for major upskilling, major growth in – potentially – a systemic manufacturing and industrial Namibia,” Rand Merchant Bank head of oil and gas Angelique Peake said on a podcast in May.
TotalEnergies declined to comment for this article.
