America wants to help structure Namibia’s oil future
Written by Nishi Felton on August 18, 2026
The United States (US) says it is committed to turning Namibia’s oil resources into lasting prosperity.
US ambassador to Namibia John Giordano says in a statement released on Monday that American companies will help produce oil from Namibia’s technically challenging geology.
“Only a handful of supermajor international oil companies have the technical expertise and experience with similarly challenging environments, and doing so requires enormous upfront investments of billions of dollars in private capital.”
“US oilfield service and technology companies Baker Hughes, Halliburton, SLB and ABS are on the ground, providing the advanced technology and operational expertise that make these campaigns possible,” Giordano says.
He says oil potential does not automatically mean a country will develop. Economic development depends on capital, infrastructure and institutions.
The port of Walvis Bay will connect Namibia’s energy resources to global markets, but also southern Africa’s resource potential as a whole.
“The United States is actively engaged through commercial diplomacy and the tools of economic statecraft to support infrastructure corridors capable of moving energy and strategic resources at scale. The Lobito Corridor to the north is already demonstrating what US-backed integrated corridor investment can produce,” Giordano says.
The ambassador says the US has significant amounts of funding through the Export-Import bank, the US international development finance corporation and the US trade and development agency that can support energy and critical mineral projects in countries like Namibia.
“President Donald Trump has made clear that energy security is national security, that resilient supply chains must be built on trusted partnerships and that economic growth and local development must go hand in hand. Namibia is exactly the kind of partner these tools are designed to support,” Giordano says.
