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Namibia and China sign energy and minerals deals during Beijing visit
The agreements include backing for offshore crude projects, where Shell and TotalEnergies have found an estimated 2.6 billion barrels, with production targeted before the end of the decade.
Namibia and China signed eight cooperation agreements during a state visit to Beijing, covering energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, agriculture, and economic development, as China seeks early access to what could become a major new African energy story, OilPrice reports.
The deals come as Namibia, under President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, courts investment to diversify an economy still dealing with high unemployment, according to the outlet.
Offshore Namibia has attracted major international interest, with Shell and TotalEnergies having discovered an estimated 2.6 billion barrels of crude, and production expected to start before the end of this decade. If that development timeline holds, Namibia could become Africa's fourth-largest oil producer by 2030, the report says.
The agreements also call for deeper cooperation on uranium, lithium, and rare earth elements, with an emphasis on local processing and technology transfer. Reuters data cited by OilPrice says Chinese companies have invested about $4.2 billion in Namibia so far, nearly all of it flowing into the metals sector.
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