TIRI MASAWI
President NeTumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says Namibia is working closely with Norway on the best way of managing the oil and gas industry to the benefit of all Namibians.
Announcing her second State of the Nation Address on Wednesday the president revealed that Norway has agreed to provide Namibia with technical support on prudent management of the oil and gas industry.
This comes after the president moved the downstream management of the oil and gas industry away from the ministry of industries mines and energy to her office.
“One of the Norwegian delegated officers who was part of the team that drafted the Namibia Petroleum Act of
1992 visited Namibia for a week last month, and they are currently in contact with the Oil Unit. If needed, the Oil Unit is ready to engage the relevant parliamentary committee for more information, as negotiations are not conducted in the chamber,” she said.
She said the government has completed regional consultations on the local content policy to gather public input and prepare a comprehensive legislative review before presenting it in Parliament.
“On Oil and Gas, I want to emphasize that this is a strategic sector worldwide. If it is not properly managed from the beginning, it could become a curse for our country, as we have seen in some nations around the globe.
“That is why I have decided to oversee it directly under the Presidency,
through the oil unit, with an initial staff establishment of 26 which could expand up to 141,” she said.
She called on Parliament to join me in this effort.
“The first step is to pass the petroleum amendment bill with urgency, as one year has already been lost. Since its establishment, the oil unit has conducted successful benchmarking visits to Guyana, Angola, Norway, and Algeria,” she said.
A government technical committee guided by the High-Level Team of ministers has also been established, and work has begun on the first phase 43 of reviewing and providing input on the Field
Development Plan batch submitted by Total Energies, marking an important initial step toward formal negotiations and final investment decisions.
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