Namibia's journey to become a deepwater oil producer is approaching a critical milestone, with French energy major TotalEnergies expected to make a Final Investment Decision (FID) on its massive Venus project within weeks.
This moment has been years in the making, starting with the landmark Venus discovery in the Orange Basin in early 2022. That discovery set off a chain of events to prove the project's viability. First, successful appraisal wells in 2023 confirmed the scale of the resource, giving TotalEnergies and its partners the technical confidence to move forward. Second, the joint venture was solidified, with both TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy increasing their stakes in 2024, creating a stable partnership essential for a multi-billion dollar development.
With the foundation in place, the focus shifted to de-risking the project on both technical and regulatory fronts. The development concept was defined around a large FPSO (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading) vessel connected to subsea wells. On the regulatory side, a series of crucial steps were taken in early 2026. These included the submission of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in January, followed by the Field Development Plan (FDP) in May. Namibia's government also signaled its support by approving a local content policy in principle, clearing the path for the project to proceed.
Recently, the economic context has become more complex. Brent crude oil prices surged above $110 per barrel in the spring, which boosted the project's long-term profitability but also risked inflating service and equipment costs. Prices have since pulled back to around $77, which eases cost pressures and creates an incentive for TotalEnergies to lock in contracts before the next upcycle. Despite this volatility, the company has consistently reiterated its goal of a 2026 FID, signaling that the project's long-term strategic value outweighs short-term market fluctuations.
A positive FID would be transformative, launching Namibia's first-ever deepwater oil development and establishing the country as a new energy frontier. For TotalEnergies, it would create a new operational anchor in a promising basin, securing production for decades to come.
- FID (Final Investment Decision): The final approval stage of a capital project, at which point major financial commitments are made.
- FPSO (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading): A type of floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry to process and store oil and gas.
- ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment): A formal process to identify, predict, and evaluate the potential environmental and social impacts of a proposed project.