Namibia Oil and Gas Conference 2025 – From Exploration to Action

August 3, 2025

Namibia is fast emerging as one of Africa’s most exciting oil and gas frontiers. With a string of recent offshore discoveries, the country has attracted growing global attention and investment interest.

The momentum is real, and with several IOCs already advancing their exploration and appraisal efforts, Namibia now stands at a critical point of moving from oil discovery to oil delivery.

The upcoming Namibia Oil and Gas Conference 2025, themed “From Exploration to Action – Positioning Namibia as the Next Energy Frontier”, is timely and very apt. It presents a key platform for policymakers, investors, financiers, and technical players to come together and define the next steps in Namibia’s energy evolution.

Leading the conversation once again is Jason Kasuto, Chair of the Economic Association of Namibia and Managing Partner at Monasa Advisory. With years of hands-on experience in development finance and policy advisory across the continent, Jason brings the right mix of insight and clarity to this year’s discussions.

In this exclusive interview with EnergyPlanets, we engage with Jason on some of the pressing issues shaping the Namibian energy landscape and what the discoveries mean for local development, how to balance investment with inclusivity, and why policy coordination is key in turning potential into long-term national value. This is more than a resource conversation. It is a defining moment for Namibia’s role in Africa’s energy future.

As host of NOGC 2025, what inspired this year’s theme, “From Exploration to Action”, and what does this transition mean for Namibia’s energy future?

“Namibia is currently in a phase where, in the foreseeable future, we expect to reach certain key milestones. As a country, we are hoping to see Final Investment Decision (FID) announcements and, ultimately, move towards production in the short to medium term.

This progression requires that Namibia prepares itself for the action ahead—first, by creating a conducive environment for the industry to thrive, and second, by ensuring that a thriving industry delivers tangible socio-economic benefits for the country.”

Namibia is gaining attention as Africa’s next energy powerhouse. From your perspective, what are the top three factors positioning Namibia as a rising energy frontier today?

“Well, I think those three factors are ultimately: number one, we are endowed with natural resources; number two, we offer a very stable and conducive environment where business can thrive; and number three, Namibia should position itself to provide the necessary infrastructural support to help the industry grow locally and benefit local value chains. That puts us in good stead as a frontier.

Of course, Namibia also has strong ambitions within the renewable energy sector, so energy as a whole is placed quite high as a national priority.”

Namibia is attracting global investors, yet infrastructure remains a key challenge.
What role does this conference play in connecting investors with the government to resolve such issues collaboratively?

“Infrastructure is definitely a key issue. It can either be a major bottleneck or a significant enabler, especially for the sector.

What the conference does is bring together high-level decision-makers and policymakers with the private sector, creating an atmosphere and platform for these types of engagements. Government representatives will attend the conference, allowing the private sector to engage directly on infrastructure issues, highlight the challenges, and discuss the way forward in addressing them.

This also provides guidance and helps identify the next steps. These are the core aims and objectives of the conference.”

Are there any major investment-ready projects being showcased at NOGC 2025 that Energyplanets readers and regional investors should keep an eye on?

“I believe the sector and the industry as a whole is large and full of potential, but still small enough for investors to already have visibility on potentially investment-ready projects. Given the recent discoveries and the public availability of information on license holders, there is already a clear indication of where these opportunities lie.

Investors should be paying close attention and positioning themselves to participate, especially by engaging further to gain more detailed insights into these projects.” The emphasis on youth engagement and mentorship is refreshing.

How is the conference directly creating pathways for young Namibians to enter and thrive in the energy sector?
“Yes, the youth are incredibly important, and their participation is essential. That’s why the 3rd Namibia Oil and Gas Conference, hosted by the Economic Association of Namibia, has partnered with the Namibia Youth Energy Forum.

This dynamic civil society organisation represents young Namibians in the energy sector and these
progressive individuals are eager to contribute meaningfully to the industry. Over the past few years, they’ve made significant contributions toward shaping youth involvement in energy.

This partnership is one of the key ways we’re engaging with young people. We’ve also made the conference extremely affordable to ensure that students and young entrepreneurs can attend and benefit. From day one, participants will gain valuable industry knowledge through masterclasses, followed by full access to the main conference programme.

Additionally, young attendees will have the opportunity to engage through exhibition platforms and, on the final day, participate in a dedicated B2B session designed to foster direct connections and professional growth.”

The partnerships with NAMCOR, NIPDB, and others reflect a unified national effort. How critical is inter-agency collaboration in driving the success of events like NOGC and Namibia’s energy agenda overall?

“The partnership with the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, as well as NAMCOR, signifies a major collaborative effort for the NOGC conference. This reflects the industry and key partners’ commitment to ensuring the success of the sector.

The role of the Investment Board is to facilitate and promote investment into Namibia. NAMCOR is our national, state-owned oil company, and its relevance goes without saying.

The fact that we have adopted this broad approach allowing all key stakeholders to participate and partner demonstrates a strong commitment to the success of the industry in Namibia.”

If you were to send one message to international investors and global energy leaders about Namibia, what would it be?

“The key message is that Namibia is ready to provide the environment that is needed for the industry to succeed. We have a stable democracy. We’ve got a legislative and independent judiciary. Investment is promoted. Namibians are ready to do business. We are really looking forward to this success and virtual announcement of FID by some of the majors but Namibia is ready and looking forward to embracing new partnerships.”

In closing, NOGC 2025 is expected to further redefine Namibia’s energy journey towards actionable development. With strong leadership and clear interplay of strong policies, regulatory framework, and finance, the conference is expected to set a practical roadmap for inclusive growth and long-term value creation.

As Namibia positions itself as Africa’s next energy frontier, the conversations and insights shared here are expected to aid in shaping not just national outcomes, but offer useful lessons for the rest of the continent.