Namibia’s ports authority stops a major project to help Luderitz with its energy needs

The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) ended a pre-qualification offer for a new oil and gas supply base at Luderitz without giving a reason, its Facebook page showed on Friday.

Government attempts to speed up development at Luderitz port, the smaller of the country’s two commercial ports and an important energy service center, were harmed by the sudden cancellation.

Following a series of offshore discoveries by Shell (SHEL.L), TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), Galp (GALP.LS), and Rhino Resources, Namibia has set its sights on producing its first oil by 2030, with Luderitz being named the country’s vital energy hub.

Unfortunately, investors and operators in the oil and gas sector are worried about the lack of key infrastructure, governmental uncertainty, and unskilled workers.

A pre-qualification tender was released by Namport on Tuesday for a concession to design, build, own, operate, and transfer (DBOOT) a new oil and gas supply base in Luderitz Bay to help drilling efforts in the Orange Basin.

“Namport regrets to inform interested parties that the DBOOT concession bid for the Luderitz Bay oil and gas supply base has been canceled,” claimed Namport’s official Facebook page.

No one called Namport CEO Andrew Kanime or replied to texts asking for more information.

Furthermore, Luderitz port, which is in the very south of the huge, dry country, wants to increase the length of its quay wall by at least 300 meters so that it can handle more platform support vessels that work in the growing offshore oil and gas industry.

Kanime earlier told Reuters that Luderitz port supports TotalEnergies’ operations, while Walvis Bay in the north of the country supports Shell and Galp.

Speaking last year, he said that the physically limited port, where fishing and mining cargos compete for room, was already close to full.