The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) remains optimistic that Namibia will become a crude oil producer, despite an announcement by Shell that its offshore oil discovery is not commercially viable.

Namcor's spokesperson, Utaara Hoveka, says the corporation remains firm in its conviction that Namibia is a rich oil province that remains largely under-explored.

Hoveka asserts that increased hydrocarbon exploration activities will unlock Namibia's full petroleum potential.

Shell told Reuters that the discovered oil and gas resources in the offshore block PEL39 in Namibia cannot currently be confirmed for commercial development.

Reuters reports that Shell and its partners, QatarEnergy and Namcor, first discovered hydrocarbons in block PEL39 in 2022.

It reports another discovery by TotalEnergies in a nearby block sparked global interest in Namibia as an emerging oil and gas producer.

However, it is feared that Shell's pronouncement has put a damper on this dream.

The TotalEnergies discovery in 2022, during the same period as Shell's offshore Block 29133, was described at the time as very promising—something that would enable preparations for appraisal operations designed to assess the commerciality of this discovery.

Meanwhile, Hoveka says Namcor, as a 10% partner in the venture, has not received any formal communication from Shell concerning the conclusive outcome of block PEL39's commercial viability.

The Reuters article states that Shell will have to write down more than N$7 billion spent in the exploration of the oil and gas block.

Hoveka, however, says that there is no financial exposure to Namcor, as it has a carried interest.

He adds that Namcor did not invest in this venture and that Shell assumed all exploration risks.