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Knowledge Katti, one of Namibia’s most prominent resource entrepreneurs, has emerged as a significant player in the country’s budding oil boom through his stake in Canadian-listed Sintana Energy Inc.
Katti, 52, owns 22.49 million shares, or 6.02-percent, in Sintana — a position now valued at just over $11-million based on the company’s share price of C$0.57 ($0.37). He also sits on the board, cementing his influence as Namibia prepares to join the ranks of Africa’s oil producers.
Sintana's push in Namibia
Sintana Energy, headquartered in Toronto, has built a diversified exploration portfolio with five offshore licenses in the Walvis and Orange basins and one onshore block in Namibia. The company also maintains interests in Colombia’s Magdalena Basin.
In Namibia, where Shell, TotalEnergies, and QatarEnergy have recently drilled some of the most promising offshore finds in decades, Sintana has quietly positioned itself as a junior with significant upside. Analysts see the Walvis and Orange basins as frontier acreage that could transform the country’s economy if developed at scale.
Namibia’s government has made no secret of its ambitions: following recent discoveries by majors that could hold billions of barrels of recoverable reserves, officials say the southern African nation could become a mid-sized oil producer within the next decade. Sintana’s exploration efforts align with this trajectory, making its assets a speculative but potentially lucrative bet.
Katti’s Record in Natural Resources
Katti has been circling the oil and gas space in Namibia for decades, wearing many hats along the way. He set up Kunene Energy — recognized as the country’s first homegrown oil and gas explorer — and later played a key role in starting the Namibia Industrial Development Group. He also co-founded Tri Linear Investments Namibia and Intaka Namibia, while earlier holding a directorship at UNX Energy Corp. His résumé also includes a stint as business development manager at Brazilian firm HRT.
Over two decades, Katti has been credited with pulling more than $400 million of outside investment into Namibia. He remains one of the wealthiest and most visible figures in the country’s natural resources landscape — both praised for his entrepreneurial drive and scrutinized for his political connections.
The Bet Ahead
With $11 million now tied up in Sintana stock, Katti’s fortunes are linked to how Namibia’s oil frontier develops. For the company, success would validate years of holding licenses and waiting for the right moment. For Namibia, every step forward brings the country closer to its first oil revenue.
