Namcor has announced that Namibia could produce more than 2.5 million tons of natural gas annually, based on recent discoveries and early-stage assessments from 2022 to the present.
At the Namibia International Energy Conference held in Windhoek on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Mtundeni Ndafyaalako, Namcor’s Executive of Upstream Development and Production, shared this projection during a session titled Monetizing Natural Gas: Lessons, Solutions, and Infrastructure.
The session was moderated by Francisco Simao, Legal & Corporate Affairs Director at Azule Energy, and featured panelists including Manfriedt Muundjua, Deputy General Manager at BW Kudu/BW Energy; Paul Eardley-Taylor, Head of Oil & Gas Coverage Southern Africa at Standard Bank; Dominique Gadelle, Vice President of Early Engagement at Technip Energies; and Ian Thom, Research Director at Wood Mackenzie.
Ndafyaalako explained that Namcor is employing a dual approach: leveraging legislative frameworks to enable coordinated infrastructure development while encouraging collaboration among operators.
He also highlighted Namcor’s commitment to expanding exploration activities to unlock additional resources.
“We have launched a gas monetization strategy project to support both government and industry on how best to commercialize gas,” he said.
This strategy clarifies monetization pathways and aims to attract new players and investments.
Muundjua emphasized the importance of integrating training, skills transfer, local procurement, and ownership into the broader gas development framework.
He noted the need for downstream investment and infrastructure development, with BW Energy having placed Namibian interns with international technical staff to support long-term local capacity building.
He added that a downstream investment partner is ready for deployment once production at the Kudu field begins, with drilling for four wells scheduled for October 2025.
Eardley-Taylor underscored the need for “shadow infrastructure” driven by public-private partnerships to address energy shortages via gas utilization.
He proposed that oil revenues could be used to finance gas infrastructure and help foster local energy markets.
He also pointed out that Namibia could eventually replace South Africa as the region’s primary energy supplier, particularly as critical mineral projects require a stable power supply.
Thom expressed confidence that Namibia could implement a comprehensive Gas Master Plan within the next nine months.
He explained that natural gas could significantly increase energy access across Namibia’s residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, where only 59% of the population is currently connected to the electricity grid.
Furthermore, Thom noted that Namibia could generate more value by exporting electricity rather than raw gas due to the high costs of gas export infrastructure and its limited availability.
