Namibia sets license terms

Namibia's government has passed legislation designed to attract foreign firms to an offshore licensing round scheduled for October. Namibia's Ministry of Mines & Energy recently unveiled a third offshore licensing round covering all unlicensed offshore acreage (OGJ, May 4, 1998, p. 48).

Aug. 24, 1998

2 min read

Namibia's government has passed legislation designed to attract foreign firms to an offshore licensing round scheduled for October.

Namibia's Ministry of Mines & Energy recently unveiled a third offshore licensing round covering all unlicensed offshore acreage (OGJ, May 4, 1998, p. 48).

The round is being promoted by Exploration Consultants Ltd. (ECL), Henley-on-Thames, U.K., which said the government's passage of the Petroleum Laws Amendment Act of 1998 updates terms set in 1991: "The main changes are a reduction in the rates of the production royalty and petroleum income tax, an enlargement of the ring fence on exploration expenditure for tax purposes, and the introduction of trust funds to cover the costs of decommissioning."

Although only one discovery has been made off Namibia-Kudu gas find, operated by Shell International BV-ECL says the area is underexplored and holds enormous potential.

A wildcat, the first to test the Luderitz basin, has been drilled recently by Norsk Hydro AS as a tight hole. Two more wildcats, one each in the Walvis and Orange basins, are planned in 1998, along with Kudu appraisal/ development drilling.

Details of the round, slated for Oct. 1-Mar. 31, will be presented in Houston and London in late September.