THE FIRST QUESTION most Namibians will ask about oil, gas, hydrogen and renewables is not technical. It is personal: Will this create work, build businesses, lower costs, improve services, strengthen communities, or give my children better opportunities?
These are the right questions.
This article argues that natural gas should be seen as part of Namibia’s bigger prize. ‘Local content’ must be about more than getting Namibian names into petroleum contracts. It must become a strategy for value addition: building skills, firms, shared infrastructure and investment opportunities that can serve oil, gas, green hydrogen, renewable energy, mining, ports and wider industry together.
Oil can bring large revenues early, but much of its activity happens offshore and much of its value can be exported quickly.
Gas is different. Gas can support power generation, industry, fertilisers, fuels, mining, manufacturing and regional trade.
Hydrogen and renewables add another layer, because they also need land, ports, water, electricity, engineering, logistics, safety systems and skilled people.
The question is whether Namibia will plan these sectors as separate projects, or as parts of one national development platform.
INTEGRATION MATTERS
That distinction matters for local companies. A business may hesitate to invest in equipment, training or certification if it sees only one short contract or one uncertain project.
But if the same capability can serve offshore oil, gas processing, hydrogen, ammonia, solar, wind, mining and port activity, the market becomes larger and more durable. A welding company, logistics provider, safety specialist, environmental monitoring firm, training institution or maintenance business can justify investing in capacity if it sees demand across several industries.
This is also where regional and continent-wide integration matters. Namibia’s domestic market is small. But under regional arrangements and the African Continental Free Trade Area, services, suppliers and skills can increasingly be positioned for a wider African market.
A Namibian company that builds capacity for petroleum, renewables, hydrogen or mining should not have to think only about one project or one country.
It should be preparing to serve Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and, where possible, the wider continent.
A bigger services market makes investment in people, equipment and standards more attractive and sustainable.
The same logic applies to facilities and services. Not every project needs its own road, jetty, training centre, water system, fabrication yard, power supply, warehouse, emergency response unit or logistics base.
Where possible, Namibia should encourage common-user infrastructure and shared services that support more than one industry.
This can reduce costs, lower risks, avoid duplication and create a larger market for local suppliers.
A facility that serves only one drilling campaign may struggle when activity slows. One that serves oil, gas, hydrogen, renewables, mining and ports has a better chance of surviving.
This also opens a different kind of opportunity for Namibians: investment, not only employment. Some parts of the energy economy are high risk, especially exploration and early-stage project development.
But other parts behave more like utilities: ports, storage, pipelines, power transmission, water supply, industrial parks, logistics bases and shared facilities. If properly regulated and commercially structured, these can produce steadier, lower-risk returns.
That makes them more suitable for participation by pension funds, mutual funds and other forms of Namibian savings.
Not every Namibian can own an oil company. Not every local firm can become an offshore contractor. But many citizens already participate indirectly through pensions, insurance funds, unit trusts and savings vehicles.
If Namibia creates bankable, well-regulated infrastructure opportunities, more citizens may benefit from the energy economy without being pushed into exploration-level risk.
But this will not happen automatically. Without deliberate policy, local content can become a paper exercise.
A company may be locally registered but import most of its skills, equipment and decision-making.
Training may produce certificates without career paths. Industrial parks may be announced without shared infrastructure. Hydrogen projects may promise future jobs while depending heavily on foreign technology, foreign finance and foreign buyers.
POLICY IS CRUCIAL
The policy and regulatory function is central.
The government must not only approve projects. It must shape the conditions under which projects strengthen the national economy. Petroleum licences, hydrogen concessions, renewable approvals, port development, water rights, environmental permits, power infrastructure and industrial policy should not be handled as disconnected files.
They should be coordinated around one question: How does this project add lasting Namibian value?
The central point is simple. Local content is not the prize. Value addition is the prize. Jobs are important, but skills matter more. Contracts are important, but firms that can serve several sectors and regional markets matter more.
Namibia’s energy moment should therefore not be divided into oil over here, gas over there, hydrogen somewhere else and renewables in another policy.
The real opportunity is to connect them. That is how gas can become more than fuel. And that is how ordinary Namibians may benefit not only as workers, but also as savers, investors, entrepreneurs and citizens.
If gas is to become the bridge between offshore discoveries and jobs, firms, industry, hydrogen, renewables and wider national value, Namibia must first know what kind of gas it is dealing with.
Gas is different from oil, but not all gas is the same.
The differences may sound technical, but they shape practical choices: what infrastructure is built, who pays for it, when gas becomes available, whether local companies can participate, and whether the country captures lasting value or watches it slip away.
– Anthony Paul is a senior energy governance, policy and strategy adviser.
