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Ex-NamPower boss urges

Namibia to accelerate Kudu

gas-to-power project

NAMIBIA FORMER managing director of Namibia Power According to the entrepreneur, who is cur-
Corporation (NamPower) Leake Hangala has rently the executive chairman of the Hangala
called on the government to urgently develop Group, gas will play an important role for
the Kudu power station to help end escalating Namibia following two large oil and associ-
power outages in neighbouring South Africa, ated gas discoveries last year in the deep-water
local media outlet The Namibian reports. Orange basin by oil majors Shell and Total.
South Africa is experiencing an acute elec- Namibia imports between 50% and 60% of its
tricity crisis as its embattled national power util- energy requirement from the Southern African
ity Eskom struggles to meet demand. Constant Power Pool (SAPP) to complement supply and
rolling power outages, known locally as load meet demand, writes The Namibian. The coun-
shedding, are impacting the country’s water sup- try has power purchase agreements (PPAs) with
ply as municipalities are unable to pump water South Africa (200MW), Zambia (100MW), and
during daily outages. Zimbabwe (80MW).
Eskom currently has 5,739MW on planned Last year, while speaking at the Namib-
maintenance, while another 18,041MW of ia’s International Energy Conference 2022 in
capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and Windhoek, National Petroleum Corporation of
delays in returning generators to service, the Namibia (Namcor) managing director Imma-
state-owned enterprise (SOE) said in a statement nuel Mulunga said the country in 2014 missed
on January 11. out on a massive opportunity to commercialise
According to Hangala, the time to follow the Kudu gas project.
through on the Kudu gas-to-power project off- “Shutting down Kudu gas was a mistake.
shore Namibia is now. The current development Kudu gas would have been active by now,” he
plan by Oslo-listed BW Energy, which acquired a said at the time as quoted by The Namibian.
56% stake in the Kudu gas field in 2017, includes The Kudu fields, situated about 200km offshore
setting up a gas baseload power plant near Oranjemund, were said to hold an estimated 1.3
Lüderitz. trillion cubic feet of gas.
“I think it is a great opportunity for Namibia. It was assumed that production fed by the
We have a massive gas resource in the name of Kudu gas fields would more than double the
Kudu,” Hangala said as quoted by The Namib- 400MW of capacity Namibia had at the time,
ian, adding that the plant would produce power says The Namibian. However, the government
for both Namibia and South Africa as the infra- pulled the plug on the project, refusing to give
structure to wheel power to South Africa is certain guarantees, and revoking agreements
already in place. that would have allowed the project to take off.
“We already have transmission lines. We are Mulunga said mistakes like these are costly
connected and we will reverse the trend of rely- and “political assistance is sometimes necessary,”
ing on South Africa. We will help South Africa, adding that if the government is able to revisit
and we will also help ourselves,” he was cited as this decision, the possibility of reactivating the
saying. project remains, reports The Namibian.™

Week 02 11•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P13