THE Namibia Petroleum Operators Association (Nampoa) elected a new leadership at its annual general meeting held on 24 January 2023.

According to a statement issued by the association in Windhoek on Tuesday, the general manager for the Norwegian oil company BW Kudu, Klaus Endresen, was re-elected as the chairperson of the association.

"With the encouraging exploration results announced in 2022, Namibia has now become an international hotspot for the global oil and gas industry. The interest for exploration opportunities in Namibia is significant.

"The leadership capacity of Nampoa has been expanded to enable the handling of the increasing workload for our association," Endresen said.

National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) upstream exploration asset manager Martin Negonga was elected vice chairperson, taking over from Brigette Verner of ExxonMobil.

"It is an exciting time to be stepping in as board member. Namibia has long been seen as a potential source of hydrocarbon deposits. Now we have further proof," Negonga said.

Tironenn Kauluma of Eco Atlantic will chair the legal committee, while Maria Mbudhi of Rhino Resources will chair the public relations committee.

Rachel Msiska of Namcor is the coordinator for Nampoa management.

The new leadership began its term on 24 January 2023 and will serve for two years.

Nampoa is a not-for-profit association established in 1992 to represent the Namibian upstream oil and gas industry, and serves as a forum for professional interaction. The organisation provides an interface for the industry with the public and the government.

Nampoa's membership is made up of BW Kudu, Eco Atlantic, ExxonMobil, Galp Energis, Global Petroleum, Maurel and Prom, Namcor, Reconnaissance Energy, Rhino Resources, Shell, Totalenergies and Tower resources.

Custos and Impact Oil and Gas are associate members.