The Croatian national oil company has acquired a two-year agreement to search for oil in the Nama Basin, located in southern Namibia.
Based on the agreement, Industrija Nafte (INA), 75% owned by the Croatian government, will look for oil and gas over a 17 773 km² area offshore of Mariental, Kalkrand and Lüderitz.
Permanent Secretary Joseph Iita of Namibia’s mines and energy department said the deal was a culmination of two years of consultation and discussions. He added that INA would be the first company to carry out oil exploration activities in Namibia. INA president Tomislav Dragicevic said his company had been in the field for the last 50 years, and had the experience and the necessary technology for success.
So far, most offshore oil operations have concentrated in the north, on the Namibian-Angola border, and Angola’s state oil company, Sonangol, is heavily involved in most of these.
Large gas resources have been found just across the border, on the Angolan side. Lately, several exploration licences have also been awarded in southern Namibia, especially in the Lüderitz Basin close to INA’s new exploration field

(Energy in Africa)