Namibia and Qatar have consolidated actions geared towards the development of the oil industry through QatarEnergy’s investment in the recent oil discoveries in the country by TotalEnergies and Shell.
The consolidation follows President Hage Geingob’s bilateral visit to Qatar in February 2022 aimed at seeking investors in areas of mutual interest such as agriculture, energy and tourism.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to Geingob here on Monday, Qatar’s Minister of Energy Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi said QatarEnergy, which is the state-owned petroleum company, is investing in the oil industry through their partners TotalEnergies, Shell, as well as the government by ensuring that the oil industry development benefits Namibians.
Al Kaabi said the two countries have developed a good relationship, therefore QatarEnergy will submit its development plan to the government once the expedition is completed with the partners in an effort to ensure that Namibians greatly benefit from the oil sector.
“We are working very hard with our partners to try and expedite the process which will foresee the development. As a nation of great oil companies, we want to make sure that in everything we do here we support the Namibian government to make sure the developments also greatly supports the citizens,” he noted.
At the same event, Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo said through the bilateral partnership Namibia looks forward to learning from the experiences of Qatar, as the oil industry is new for Namibia and such partnerships are important to ensure that the revenue generated becomes meaningful to the Namibian people and economy.
“Such partnership is important for us to make sure we have a clear skills development plan and how to manage the resources. We need to continue strengthening partnerships by talking to the people with skills in the industry,” he said.
In response, President Geingob said Namibia is honoured to partner with Qatar in oil development through processes, systems and institutions aimed at developing the industry, adding that investors such as these are needed for the country.