By Benjamin Wickham
Windhoek, Feb. 28 — Namibia is betting on natural gas to boost its economy and diversify its energy mix. The country is building a solid business relationship with Qatar, which owns stakes in some of the significant oil and gas discoveries off Namibia’s shore.
Qatar’s long history in natural gas production and monetization makes it a suitable partner for Namibia. As Qatar moves closer to achieving its natural gas ambitions and expanding its LNG production capacity, it could share valuable knowledge with Namibia on developing a national petroleum development strategy, best practices for revenue management, and an effective approach to environmental management.
Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, is keen to learn from Qatar’s successes and optimize the value of Namibia’s hydrocarbon resources. Qatar started to monetize natural gas production in the late 1980s, and the country now supplies more liquefied natural gas (LNG) than any other nation.
By partnering with Qatar, Namibia could capitalize on its recent oil and gas discoveries to create energy security and generate revenue.
