Namibia to pocket oil billions only after 2031 despite its new light oil discovery

Namibia has made its third light oil discovery 270 km off its coast in the Orange Basin, though experts say the southern African country will only reap the rewards of these discoveries in a few years.The drilling process in the Orange Basin started in December 2022 and was successfully finished in recent days, according to the National Petroleum Company of Namibia (NAMCOR) and its partners in the Jonker-1X deep-water exploration project, Shell and Qatar Energy. The Odfjell Deepsea Bollsta semi-submersible rig was used in Blocks 2913A and 2914B of the hydrocarbon-rich Orange Basin, offshore Namibia, at a total well depth of 6,168 m at water depths of 2,210 m. "The encouraging results from the well are a geological testimony of the huge hydrocarbon potential in the deep-water play of the Orange Basin," said Victoria Sibeya the Executive of Upstream Exploration, NAMCOR.Namibia might become another major oil producer on the continent's Atlantic coast and would consider joining the OPEC, if new finds are made, according to the African nation's government. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, oil explorations across Africa have skyrocketed, with the promise shown in countries like Uganda and Tanzania. But despite recent significant discoveries in the offshore Orange Basin, which are creating expectations of massive future government oil revenue, Namibia is set to receive massive oil revenues only after 2030, a leading Namibian wealth management outfit has concluded. According to the "Namibia Economic Focus February 2023" report, "given that the first production of crude oil is only likely from 2028, potential government oil revenues will be relatively limited before 2031, but could rise markedly thereafter if the oil price remains strong."