Qatar to Speed Up Development of New Oil Fields in Namibia: Energy Minister

DOHA (Sputnik) - Qatar's state-owned oil and gas company QatarEnergy wants to accelerate the development of two oil fields it discovered off the coast of Namibia with joint venture partners earlier this year, the head of the company, Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said on Monday.

"The talks during the visit concerned bilateral relations and cooperation between Qatar and Namibia in the field of energy and ways to further strengthen them. The talks also focused on QatarEnergy's plans as the largest international shareholder in the Orange Basin coastal zone and its partners in relation to the recently discovered significant Venus and Graff deposits, including prioritizing their development and further research," Al-Kaabi said during his visit to the African country, according to the company press release obtained by Sputnik.

The minister noted that the drilling work is expected to start in 2023, without specifying when the two oil fields will be put into operation.

QatarEnergy owns 30% of the shares of the Venus X1 field development joint venture, while the field’s operator, French TotalEnergies, has 40%, Private Impact Oil and Gas company owns 20%, and Namibia’s state-owned NAMCOR has 10%. In the Graff field, UK Shell and QatarEnergy each hold a 45% stake, while NAMCOR owns the remaining 10%.

The commissioning of these fields could make Namibia, a southern neighbor of OPEC member Angola, another oil producer on the African Atlantic coast.

The companies have not yet reported on the quantities of oil found in the fields.

Last month, during an oil conference in Dakar, Namibian Energy Minister Tom Alweendo said that the joint venture partners could start production at the country's new fields in four years.