Lets talk about 5 Must study courses in Namibia’s energy sector in the oil, gas and hydrogen energy revolution in Namibia. The oil and gas industry in Namibia is on the verge of an energy boom. Namibia is aiming to become a green hydrogen superpower in the coming decade by positioning itself as a leader in the emerging markets and an international exporter of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen will be an important source of foreign investment and can be important for the country’s energy security and transition. The government plans to use it extensively to decarbonize its own economy.
1. Risk and Compliance in oil and gas
Any company that plans to take part in the oil and gas sector, including the Green Hydrogen Project, will require people who are skilled in compliance with frameworks and assessment of possible risks. Compliance is all about ensuring that an organisation has the ability to be incompliance with government and/or industries regulations, standards, laws and rules. This is with respect to both internal and external rules that govern its operations and policies.
While the risk element is the process of identifying and assessing legal penalties, financial losses, and material losses, associated with an organization’s failure to act under certain laws and regulations. Most of the course available under risk and compliance are usually postgraduate – meaning they are only available to individuals who already have an undergraduate degree.
The below postgraduate qualifications are critical in the oil and gas industry:
- University of Johannesburg’s Postgraduate Diploma in Compliance Management
- UNISA’s Postgraduate Diploma in Risk Management
- UCT Certificate in Compliance Management
2. Anti-Money Laundering/ Counterterrorism Financing (AML/CFT)
The oil and gas sector, just like any other sector, may fall prey to financial crimes. Particularly money laundering and terrorist financing schemes. It is for this reason that the Financial Intelligence Act, 13 of 2012 (FIA), came into effect in 2012. Its aim is to introduce measures to protect the Namibian economy against financial crime, such as money laundering and terrorist financing activities. This requires expertise in financial crime typologies. This knowledge can be acquired by studying the following:
- ACAMS certification in AML
- University of Johannesburg’s Certificate in AML/CFT (part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Compliance at UJ)
3. Legal
The energy sector, in addition to compliance practitioners needs legal personnel. This includes legal advisors, legal practitioners, dispute resolution experts etc. These people would be responsible for drafting of contracts, litigation, interpretation of laws, company secretarial services and any other legal duties. To become one of these people above, you would need a legal qualification, preferably a law degree. Below are courses you can study to meet this requirement.
- UNAM’s Bachelor of Laws
- Stadio’s BCom Law
- UNISA’s Bachelor of Laws
4. Accounting and Finance
Finance and money is involved in every sector. Beyond that there is a need to ensure that financial transactions and records are accurate as far as possible. The energy sector will thus need accountants, auditors, financial managers, tax advisors etc. The benefit of getting a qualification in this field is that there is an abundance of career paths even beyond the energy sector. The qualifications needed in this area include:
- UNAM‘s Bachelor of Accounting
- NUST’s Bachelor of Accounting
- UNISA’s Bcom Financial management
5. Environmental Science
Sustainable development, as defined by the United Nations, recognises that strong economies depend on equitable societies and a healthy environment. At a minimum, efforts to strengthen the national economy through industries such as mining should not jeopardise the environment or perpetuate social inequalities, environmental health and safety. As such there are minimum environmental and health standards that need to be complied with by all companies in the energy sector. The project will need people who will deal with environmental clearances, safety working conditions codes, environment management procedures etc. To be one of these people you would need the following:
- UNAM’s B.Sc. Environmental Science
- UNAM’S Geology
Conclusion
All in all, the above are the critical qualifications which will be in high demand. However, this list is not exhaustive and any qualification is always a significant investment in your personal development so keep learning.
