BUSINESS 7: From decision to dividend

The organisers of NOGC 2026, held from 23 to 26 August, had planned for more than 4 000 delegates, 150 speakers and more than 100 exhibitors. The aim was to bring government, operators, investors, financiers and Namibian businesses together under the slogan: “From Decision to Dividend: Making Namibia’s Oil Work for Namibians.”

The final event was smaller, with around 1 500 delegates, 120 speakers and more than 70 exhibitors (https://q.my.na/PEB0. Yet it arguably proved more revealing for what it showed about Namibia’s readiness to turn its oil and gas potential into projects, infrastructure, businesses, jobs and tax revenue.

The issue was therefore less about the conference size and more about who took part, both in person and online – and whether Namibia is ready to move from discovery to development.

Political environment ready to go

Politically, the message was consistent: Namibia must prepare for the opportunities that could come with oil and gas development.

Vice-President Lucia Witbooi, delivering President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s address, said discovery was not the destination. Oil would only become a national success if it generated employment, opportunities for Namibian businesses, skills and technology transfer, infrastructure, revenue and savings.

She also acknowledged the challenge facing the country: Namibia needs to strengthen its institutions, infrastructure, logistics, supplier base and workforce before major development decisions are taken.

Mines and energy minister Modestus Amutse placed investor confidence at the centre of the discussion, arguing that fiscal and policy certainty are essential for attracting investment.

He said the new National Upstream Petroleum Local Content Policy should maximise Namibian employment, suppliers, technology transfer, ownership and financing. Local banks, he added, were ready to consider bankable proposals.

Labour Minister Fillemon Wise Immanuel acknowledged that foreign expertise would be necessary, but warned that expatriate skills could not become a permanent substitute for developing Namibian capacity. He argued that the local-content policy needs a legislative framework.

That is where the conference became more revealing.

Big opportunities, practical barriers

The programme included supplier workshops, a local-content masterclass, Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) supplier pitching, speed networking, and sessions on SMEs, financing and infrastructure.

Technical discussions covered everything from drilling and subsea engineering to gas monetisation, LNG, pipelines, ports, regional integration and the energy transition.

NIPDB’s contribution highlighted the distance between political aspirations and commercial reality.

SMEs were given opportunities to pitch directly to operators, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, financiers and investors. Yet many still face barriers such as certification, quality-management systems, vendor registration, financial systems, bankable business plans, legal requirements and, perhaps most importantly, access to finance.

The elephant in the room: finance

One post-conference industry assessment put the issue bluntly: local content is a financing question before it is a policy question.

A Namibian company may have the skills – and even win a contract – but without working capital, guarantees, asset and trade finance, foreign-exchange facilities and workable payment arrangements, it may still be unable to deliver.

Nigeria’s Content Development and Monitoring Board reinforced this concern, calling for African countries to harmonise local-content approaches and build cross-border partnerships.

Africa already has engineering, fabrication, manufacturing and project-execution capabilities, the Nigerian delegation argued. However, fragmented markets and limited access to finance mean much of that capacity remains underused.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum also urged Namibia to develop a gas master plan, highlighting infrastructure, skills, local content and regional co-operation as important to turning gas resources into industrial value.

There was genuine progress at NOGC 2026. Namibia now has an approved local-content policy, suppliers were brought into contact with operators, banks indicated a willingness to consider proposals, and other African countries shared their experience.

More importantly, the conversation moved closer to what will be required to deliver first oil.

Uncomfortable questions remain

But major concerns remain.

Who will finance a Namibian company before its first major contract is paid? Who will help a small contractor meet the cost of expensive certification? Who will ensure that “local content” means more than catering, transport and low-level subcontracting? And how will Namibia ensure that local companies progress into fabrication, engineering, technology and ownership rather than remaining at the lower end of the value chain?

The government has correctly recognised that local participation cannot come at the expense of standards. But international standards should not become a gatekeeping mechanism that excludes companies simply because they have never had access to the capital, technology and contracts needed to develop those capabilities.

That may determine whether “Making Namibia’s Oil Work for Namibians” remains a conference slogan or becomes an economic reality.

NOGC 2026 achieved something important: it brought many of the right people around the same table and made the gaps difficult to ignore.

The real test will be whether Namibia can close those gaps before final investment decisions are made. Once major contracts are awarded, it could be too late to discover that the Namibian companies and workers expected to benefit were never equipped to compete.