Namibia is seeking to become "the sustainable energy capital" of Africa and Russia is able to assist the country in achieving this goal by sharing its expertise in the field and enhancing its investments, the ambassador told Sputnik in an interview.
“Russia has expertise in a number of areas where it can explore investment opportunities in Namibia. First is energy – Namibia aims to become the sustainable energy capital of Africa. This will open up many opportunities in green hydrogen, renewable energy and biofuels,” the ambassador said.
He also stated that Moscow may be interested in cooperating with Namibia in oil and gas industry development, referring to pipeline and refinery construction in the country.
“Thanks to the newly discovered oil fields, there may be opportunities in Namibia for activities both in the middle and at the end of the production cycle," he said.
Europe's two largest energy companies, TotalEnergies and Shell, discovered new light oil fields in 2022 in two wells (Venus-1 and Graff-1) drilled in the Orange River Basin, off the coast of Namibia. According to the ambassador, the companies are set to conduct appraisal drilling to assess commercial feasibility. Drilling is anticipated to start in November 2022, and projected production volumes will be defined after the appraisal phase. The first oil shipment is expected in about five years.
The ambassador also commented on the planned Russian uranium mining project in his country, stating that Namibia and Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, don't have any serious disagreements on the issue, but it is necessary to explain to the local population that no environmental harm will come from the implementation of the project.
The project’s investment potential is estimated at up to $500 million. It is expected to raise Namibia's GDP by approximately 1-2%, according to Rosatom. In addition, the project will create about 600 job opportunities in the field itself, and up to 20,000 jobs in related industries.
In-situ leaching, or solution mining, a process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, is expected to be implemented in the country for the first time. According to Rosatom officials, the method, which is largely used in Russia, doesn't constitute a threat to the environment.
"Rosatom needs to carry out additional scientific work to convince the population that there will be no pollution of groundwater," the ambassador underlined.
He added that there are no sanctions against Rosatom's prospecting and exploration activities in Namibia.
Moreover, the ambassador mentioned that there are great opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, as "Namibia has large fertile lands for agricultural production." He noted that Russia is not one of Namibia’s leading trading partners, so there are many investment opportunities.
In recent years, Russia has been expanding its ties with Africa in different fields as part of its longstanding commitment to the continent's development. In particular, the first Russia-Africa Summit, held in Sochi in October 2019, boosted Russia's cooperation with countries on the continent, including ties in spheres such as trade, investment, energy, and security.
During the summit, numerous deals were signed, including agreements on cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, specifically with Ethiopia and Rwanda. Furthermore, last week, Russia and Burundi signed a roadmap on establishing a dialogue on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.