TotalEnergies says its planned investment of about N$10 billion in oil exploration activities offshore Namibia complements the government's efforts in developing the sector.
A company delegation, led by its Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné, met with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House on Friday.
Pouyanné outlined the medium- and long-term project plans of TotalEnergies.
Two months ago, French oil giant TotalEnergies announced that it had resumed hydrocarbon exploration in the Orange Basin off the coast of Namibia.
The deepwater project, known as the Venus project, aims to unearth more than 150,000 barrels per day, with further drilling expected.
Pouyanné described the development as challenging, yet promising.
"We have quite a lot of oil – around 750 million barrels to be developed. It's not easy; it's quite challenging because it's a remote location, but it will be a world record. Venus will be the deepest development in terms of water depth, so it's a new frontier. There are challenges in terms of the cost of the project, but I came to say that we are committed, and we need to work together to find mutual benefit, I would say, in the project."
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reiterated that investments in the energy sector speak to the government's objective of meeting the needs of the citizens and the overall development of the country.
"I had my SONA yesterday, and one question I faced was when I was talking too highly about what I wanted to do for Namibians, and I was emphasising what I was planning to do; it would be funded by the government, the public sector, and the private sector." I was then asked, 'Where are the foreign investors going to come from?' Because it seems that the world is facing recession, and we may not have investors to come in, so I said, 'There are those who have interest; I will be busy tomorrow.' And you have come at the right time, and I hope that you will help me to meet the high expectations that Namibians have."
TotalEnergies largely trades in the retail sale and storage of oil and gas products, but added exploration to its portfolio in Namibia in 2017.