WINDHOEK Namibia has declared that it will not recognize a recent offshore oil agreement involving French energy major Total Energies and Brazilian state-owned Petrobras, after officials said the companies failed to follow the nation’s legal approval procedures.
The deal in question saw Total Energies and Petrobras announce they had each acquired a 42.5% stake in the PEL104 petroleum exploration license off Namibia’s southern coast in the Lüderitz Basin an area attracting growing international interest as Namibia positions itself as a future oil producer.
However, on Sunday, the Namibian Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy said it had not been properly informed of the transaction before its public announcement and emphasized that, under national petroleum law, any transfer or acquisition of interests in exploration licenses must receive prior approval from the energy minister. Without that formal application and statutory review, the government said, “no transaction can be recognized or considered valid.”
Jonas Mbambo, a spokesperson for the presidency, reiterated that the government expects all oil sector stakeholders to comply with the statutory process before making any license transfers public. Both Total Energies and Petrobras have acknowledged that the transaction is subject to pending approvals from Namibian authorities.
The dispute comes at a time when Namibia is reforming its energy sector regulations, including introducing a Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Amendment Bill aimed at modernizing frameworks, expanding transparency provisions, and establishing a new upstream regulatory unit.
Namibia has yet to begin commercial oil production, but the country’s offshore blocks have drawn significant global interest following recent discoveries and exploration activity. The outcome of this procedural dispute could shape how future oil investments are conducted as Namibia prepares to develop its energy resources.