Namibia's government plans to complete the establishment of its sovereign wealth fund in 2025, when it also expects its first offshore oil project to be approved, the southern African country's finance minister told Reuters on Tuesday.
Namibia, which has yet to produce any oil or gas, has become an exploration hotspot after offshore discoveries by TotalEnergies and Shell.
"We are busy developing a comprehensive law that is going to set the rules of withdrawal and also the rules of investment," Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi said, speaking on the sidelines of an energy conference in Norway.
"Hopefully it will be at the parliament by the beginning of the next year ... As soon as the law is in place, the fund would be fully established," he added.
Oil production to happen 'in four to six years'
Namibia, however, does not expect the fund to receive income until oil production starts, which could happen in four to six years, Shiimi said.
TotalEnergies and Qatar Energy were likely to become the first companies to approve oil development off Namibia in 2025, he added.
"When it starts, we will definitely have significant resources coming in, and at least a significant part of that will be going into the fund".
There were no estimates on how quickly the fund could grow, given the companies have not approved any production plans yet.
➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
