<article><p class="lead">A series of oil discoveries in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia in the past 18 months could hold as much as 10.5bn bl combined, according to state-owned oil firm Namcor.</p><p>Citing a study by consultancy Wood Mackenzie, Namcor said the contingent resource figure is a pre-appraisal estimate for oil and does not include associated gas volumes. It includes 5.1bn from the <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2305224">Venus discovery</a>, 2.4bn-2.6bn bl from the <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2298744">Graff find</a>, 2.5bn bl from the <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2426283">Jonker discovery</a> and 0.3bn bl from the recently-announced <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2468435">Lesedi</a> find.</p><p>The TotalEnergies-operated Venus find is estimated to be the second-largest hydrocarbon discovery in the world since 2015. The company has said it believes Venus could be a <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2377858">supergiant</a> field.</p><p>Namcor sees first oil from these discoveries by around 2029-30, slightly later than its <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2301850">initial 2028 forecast</a>. This could propel Namibia into the world's top 15 oil producers by 2035, Namcor's acting managing director, Shiwana Ndeunyema, told the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference in Windhoek.</p><p>Foreign oil firms investing in Namibia's nascent upstream oil and gas sector — which include Shell and Qatar's state-owned QE, as well as TotalEnergies — will be entitled to 36pc of production revenues, while Namcor will have a 10pc stake. The rest will accrue to the Namibian government, consisting of a royalty fee of 5pc, corporate income tax of 35pc, an additional profits tax of 5-12pc, as well as an annual licence fee and a training contribution. This could double Namibia's annual GDP in less than a decade, to $37bn by 2040, Ndeunyema said.</p><p class="bylines">By Elaine Mills</p></article>