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AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

ReconAfrica is developing adjacent Kavango basin blocks in Namibia and Botswana (Image: ReconAfrica)

Namibian court denies NGOs’ request for a

freeze on oil exploration in Kavango basin

NAMIBIA THE High Court of Namibia has ruled that ReconAfrica and NAMCOR free to proceed.
the Canadian company Reconnaissance Africa Shakwa Nyambe, a managing partner at
(ReconAfrica) and its local partner, National SNC, hailed the court’s decision. “This is a big
Petroleum Corp. of Namibia (NAMCOR), may win for our client ReconAfrica and its joint
proceed with exploration work at PEL 73, a venture partner NAMCOR because it enables
block in the Kavango basin in the north-eastern them to continue with the ongoing drilling
part of the country. programme for well 8-2 and other oil and gas
The court, led by Justice Thomas Masuku, exploration activities for PEL 73,” he said. “The
issued a judgment to this effect on July 29. It positive court outcome for our client bears wit-
took this step a little more than two weeks after ness to SNC Inc.’s ability to advise and represent
the first hearing on a case filed by environmen- international energy and mining companies
tal groups against ReconAfrica, NAMCOR and undertaking projects in Namibia and the rest of
multiple Namibian government agencies. Africa.”
The non-governmental organisations The judgment was also welcomed by the
(NGOs) had filed the suit on July 13 in a bid African Energy Chamber (AEC), an industry
to halt work at PEL 73 on the grounds that the group that promotes oil and gas development
companies had not taken adequate precautions in African states. NJ Ayuk, the chamber’s exec-
to guard against environmental harm and had utive chairman, described the lawsuit as part
not properly notified all residents of communi- of a wider attempt by external forces to block
ties affected by the project. On that date, they Africans from developing their own natural
asked the court to place a temporary hold on resources.
exploration activities at the block. “Environmentalists successfully blocked
In response, SNC, the Namibian law firm a key offshore seismic programme in South
representing ReconAfrica, argued that the Africa this year, preventing the country from
NGOs lacked standing to initiate the lawsuit addressing its energy crisis and lifting people
and that the request for an interim interdict was out of poverty. The AEC is glad to see that the
not urgent enough to require immediate judi- Namibian courts are not taking the same path,
cial action. It also asserted that the court did but rather, they are committed to making energy
not have the authority to provide the relief the poverty history in Africa. What is even better is
NGOs were seeking, as the Canadian company that an African law firm is taking the lead in
had secured the necessary authorisations from this,” Ayuk commented. “We have seen Western
the relevant state agencies. organisations using Africans to try and block
Masuku upheld these preliminary points in our development. The judgment issued by the
the judgment. As a result, the request for a tem- High Court of Namibia reaffirms the continent’s
porary freeze on exploration was denied, leaving commitment to oil and gas.”

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