Govt in talks with two oil companies to work from Lüderitz

Minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo last week revealed this in parliament, and added the government is still negotiating with a German company on owning a stake in a green hydrogen energy project in southern Namibia.

The minister was responding to questions from Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member of parliament Nico Smit about the government’s negotiations with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, including claims that the state is being cornered to build houses for the company’s staff members.

Alweendo rejected these claims.

“While speaking about housing at Lüderitz, it is important to note that the //Kharas region in general, and Lüderitz in particular, will be one of the fastest-growing regions.

“This is so not only because of the GH2 [green hydrogen], but also because of the recent oil discovery,” he said.

“We are negotiating with the two oil companies, Shell and Total Energies, to ensure their operations are conducted from Lüderitz and not Walvis Bay,” Alweendo said.

According to the minister, housing will be an important element that will go hand in hand with economic development in the region.

“The negotiations [on green hydrogen] involve various elements related to socio-economic aspects such as employment, skills development, enterprise and supplier development, supplementary infrastructure delivery, and corporate social responsibility,” he said.

Smit asked why the government is contemplating the introduction of a synthetic fuels bill dictated by Germany’s Hyphen Energy.

Alweendo said proposals for the law in question were already submitted years before Hyphen was awarded the green hydrogen deal.

“The government will research and craft a synthetic fuels bill, and it will be brought to the house for consideration and debate, just like any other law,” Alweendo said.

Smit also asked who would own the envisaged 24% of shares in Hyphen’s green hydrogen project.

The minister said the government is currently negotiating an equity stake with the preferred bidder.

“The amount and conditions attached to the envisaged equity are yet to be decided, and various options are being considered in terms of the most appropriate structure to house this potential national asset,” Alweendo said.

Smit wanted to know why the government promised Hyphen it would not issue mining exploration licences alongside Namibia’s coast for 42 years.

“No such promise has been made to Hyphen. Around this issue of land usage, the negotiations are about how the energy infrastructure to be built can coexist with mining infrastructure that already exists, or which could be built in the future,” Alweendo said, adding “Namibia will be the winner when both industries can coexist”.

He said the land considered for the green hydrogen project is situated in the Tsau | |Khaeb National Park and constitutes less than 1% of the park.

The green hydrogen project has been under scrutiny since last year.

In December last year, PDM leader McHenry Venaani claimed the children of political leaders are lined up to benefit from the green hydrogen project.

“What we are seeing is the lining up of powerful people and their children to get deals,” he said. – shinovene@namibian.com.na