Since Independence, Government policy in Namibia has sought to encourage exploration for commercial deposits of oil and gas both off and onshore. The Ministry of Industrialisation, Mines and Energy through the Directorate of Petroleum Affairs (currently headed by Maggi Shino) oversees policy and regulation towards the sector whilst the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, a commercial public enterprise under the Ministry of Industrialisation, Mines and Energy, formed out of the old pre-Independence Swakor, is the Namibian State’s active participant in it. The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act and the Petroleum (Taxation) Act became law as early as 1991 and with a few amendments continue to form the basis of Namibia’s policy and regulatory framework towards the sector.

The offshore Kudu gas field was discovered by Chevron in 1973 but was never exploited. After two successful licencing rounds in 1992 and 1995, Namibia moved to an open system of licencing following the failure of the third round in 1999. But it took until 2010, when the sustained high price of oil combined with improvements in offshore exploration and drilling technology, before Namibia succeeded in attracting more intensive international interest in its offshore blocks.