Ester Mbathera
The Venus Oil Project, located offshore in Block 2913B, has entered its environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) phase as TotalEnergies EP Namibia B.V. and its joint venture partners NAMCOR and QatarEnergy move ahead with plans to start oil production.
The Venus Field lies approximately 290 kilometres southwest of Lüderitz, in waters around 3 000 metres deep.
The proposed development involves drilling up to 40 subsea wells, installing supporting infrastructure, and deploying a floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) to process and store the extracted oil.
The FPSO will offload oil to tankers for export, while supply vessels and aircraft will support the operation.
SLR Environmental Consulting Namibia has been appointed to lead the ESIA, with Urban Dynamics Africa handling stakeholder engagement.
“SLR is supporting the Joint Venture to conduct the ESIA,” said contact person Ernst Simon.
If environmental clearance is granted, construction and installation could take about five years.
The expected production lifespan of the field is around 20 years.
A Draft Scoping Report will be open for public comment from 2 to 13 May 2025. It will be accessible at local and regional offices, including the Walvis Bay Municipality, Lüderitz Town Council, //Kharas Regional Council, Bethanie Village Council, Oranjemund Town Council, Swakopmund Municipal Council, and the City of Windhoek customer care centre. The report can also be downloaded from the project website.
Public engagement sessions began on 7 April and will continue through 6 May in towns such as Windhoek, Swakopmund, Henties Bay, and Walvis Bay.
A virtual session is also scheduled for 6 May.
These meetings aim to inform communities and collect feedback on the proposed development.
