Chamwe Kaira
An environmental and social assessment has found that the proposed Venus Offshore Development Project aligns with Namibia’s key national and energy policies.
This includes the sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), which seeks to balance economic growth with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
The assessment says the project’s remaining environmental impacts, after mitigation, are expected to be low to negligible during normal operations.
The main exception is greenhouse gas emissions, which were rated as having a medium to high negative impact under European Bank for Reconstruction and Development criteria.
These emissions will be managed through an Energy and Carbon Management Plan and monitored throughout the project’s life.
The report notes that any decision to proceed should consider emissions within broader national goals, including climate commitments, economic growth and the overall benefits of the project, rather than assessing emissions at the project level alone.
On social and economic impacts, the assessment says some negative effects during normal operations, such as possible impacts on fishing livelihoods, maritime traffic and community health and safety, are expected to be low to negligible.
In contrast, the project is expected to bring strong economic benefits through contributions to gross domestic product, exports, the trade balance, government revenue and employment, which are rated as having high positive significance given current economic conditions and unemployment levels.
The assessment also examined unplanned events such as nearshore oil spills, which could have high to very high negative impacts.
However, these events are considered very unlikely. Prevention and response measures will follow national regulations and international standards set out in the final Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report.
With the proposed safeguards and mitigation measures applied throughout the project life cycle, the assessment concludes that the Venus Offshore Development Project is environmentally acceptable and broadly beneficial in socio-economic terms.
The Venus field lies offshore in southern Namibia, about 320 kilometres south-west of Lüderitz, in the northern part of Block 2913B, at water depths of around 3 000 metres. EEPNA and its joint venture partners hold an exploration licence for the block and are assessing the field’s commercial potential based on exploration and appraisal results.
The proposed development includes drilling up to 40 subsea wells, installing subsea equipment and mooring a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading vessel at the field. Oil would be transferred from the vessel to tankers, while supply vessels and aircraft would support offshore operations from existing onshore facilities.
The joint venture has applied for an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) to develop the field and produce light crude oil. If approved, construction, drilling and installation are expected to take about five years, followed by a production phase lasting 20 years or more.
The project triggers several listed activities under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of 2012 and requires an ECC before work can begin. SLR Environmental Consulting (Namibia) has been appointed as the independent environmental assessment practitioner to manage the application and carry out the required scoping and assessment process.
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Venus aligns with key national and energy policies.
