Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy and Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the energy sector.
The MoU, said to pave the way for continued cooperation, covers areas such as knowledge sharing, workforce development and exploring further investment opportunities in Namibia.
The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Namibia, in a signing ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha.
“We are pleased to further enhance our cooperation with the Government of Namibia and build on our recent successes. This agreement further strengthens our relationship as we work jointly towards a prosperous future,” said Minister Al-Kaabi .
QatarEnergy recently announced a light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X well in the Orange Basin offshore southern Namibia, adding to the previous two separate oil and associated gas discoveries in the same basin last year.
The Qatari energy giant holds interests in three exploration licenses offshore Namibia, including 45 per cent in PEL-39, 30 per cent in PEL-56, and 28.33 per cent in PEL-91, covering a total area of over 28,000 km².
In terms of other recent activities, it is worth noting that at the end of March QatarEnergy entered into a farm-in agreement for two exploration licenses offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada with ExxonMobil.
The deal is said to allow the Qatari player to expand its offshore exploration portfolio in Atlantic Canada.