When Total Energies and Shell separately announced “significant” discoveries of what appears to be commercial quantities of oil and gas offshore Namibia — possibly more than 4 billion barrels of oil in total — it signaled something new for the nation: a chance to monetize its natural resources to combat energy poverty and accelerate economic growth. The offshore deposits — the nation’s largest find since independence — are at peak likely to provide Windhoek an estimated $5.6 billion annually in royalties and taxes and should help the nation double its $11 billion economy by 2040.
Several African countries have been gradually boosting their oil and gas output over the last year, as demand for fossil fuels continues to rise.