Namibia’s recent offshore oil discoveries have created enormous economic opportunities, but they also raise critical governance challenges. This presentation by Graham Hopwood, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), explores key risks in the emerging oil sector — including transparency gaps, local content pressures, environmental oversight, and governance issues at state institutions. It argues that Namibia’s pre-production phase provides a crucial window to strengthen oversight systems, build transparency, and ensure that oil development benefits the country as a whole.
The presentation was made at the Eco Dialogue Collective’s panel discussion on upstream petroleum governance on 12 March 2026