Angola, Namibia to cooperate on petroleum, natural gas

President Nangolo Mbumba expressed Namibia’s willingness to take notes from Angola’s oil and gas sectors while touring oil and manufacturing companies during his one-day visit to Angola on Monday.

Mbumba and his counterpart, president João Lourenço, agreed to have a bi-national commission to improve collaboration on oil and gas and energy, among others things.

“The two presidents underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in the areas of oil and gas, energy, agriculture and water. The president underscored that Namibia had a lot to learn from Angola in the oil and gas sectors.

“In that vein, president Mbumba and president Lourenço agreed to convene the Namibia-Angola Bi-national-Commission in the coming months in order to scale up mutually beneficial cooperation between Namibia and Angola,” reads a statement issued by the Namibian Presidency yesterday.

Mbumba wants Sonangol Integrated Logistics Services (Sonils) to do business with Namibia.

Sonils provides logistical support and related services to the oil, gas and energy sectors.

“Prior to departure to Namibia, and in order to give effect to the agreement on cooperation in petroleum and natural gas, president Mbumba was taken on a tour of Sonils.

President Mbumba encouraged the leadership of Sonils to work with their Namibian partners on the basis of a solid and transparent partnership for the benefit of both countries,” notes the statement.

According to The Brief, the Namibian Ports Authority has entered into a tripartite agreement with Angola’s Sonangol and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia to establish an integrated logistics base in Namibia to support the country’s emerging oil and gas industry.

The three parties, through the agreement, will see Namibia and Angola, through Sonils – a subsidiary of Sonangol – realise positive bearings from Namibia’s oil and gas industry.

The logistics base to be built will be similar to that of Sonils in Luanda, although no timeline has been set.
Moreover, the Karam Group told Mbumba of their plans to set up shop in Namibia.

“The company expressed interest in investing in Namibia, setting up similar operations to the amount of N$1 billion, with potential 350 employment opportunities for Namibians. The management team of the company informed the president that they had secured land in Windhoek and were hoping to reach a stage where they would commence operations in the near future,” noted the statement.

Mbumba and Lourenço also agreed to inaugurate the Cassinga Memorial in the coming months.

Mbumba said it is a long-standing tradition for Namibian presidents to visit Angola as their first working visit outside the country. Mbumba left Windhoek on Monday and returned on Tuesday.