As Namibia prepares for first oil production in 2029, the country is witnessing a surge in oil and gas investment. Amid this growth, the pressure to bring projects online becomes increasingly apparent, with field engineers playing an instrumental role in driving the country’s energy agenda. One of these trailblazers is Kavenamuua Kgosiemang, Field Engineer at SLB. Kgosiemang is recognized as a 20 Under 40 Energy Women Rising Star.
Please provide a brief overview of your journey in the energy industry that led to your current role? What are some key achievements or milestones that you are particularly proud of?
My young passion for natural resources and energy in general was part of what led me to undertake Electrical Engineering. My first internship was mainly focused on energy management of several commercial properties in Windhoek of which I received a good review from management on my work and later an extension of my work contract. I later worked as an In-Training-Engineer for an Electrical Engineering consultancy in Namibia. In 2022, I was recruited in the first batch of Engineers for SLB Namibia and officially onboarded in April 2023. I landed a role as Field Engineer Trainee in Well Construction Measurements, and being the only Namibian in the role at the time, I put my fast-learning and dynamic abilities to the test to being promoted as Field Engineer by February 2024.
As a Measurements Field Engineer, I had the opportunity to work swiftly with top operators such as TotalEnergies EP Namibia, Shell, Chevron as well as with Azule Energy and Etu Energias while offshore Angola. I later managed to run a job as lead MLWD engineer on an offshore drilling campaign in early 2024 already. I passed my first Oil & Gas Measurements training course with flying colors in 2023 and emerged as class top performer in 2024 during a Directional Driller’s course of Drilling Optimization.
The energy industry is known for its complexities. What were some significant challenges you faced along the way, and how did you navigate through them to achieve your goals?
The first challenge I faced was when I was assigned to my first offshore rig, which happened to be a drillship, and I essentially faced the strong seasickness due to unfamiliarity, weather and consequent heaves. My next challenge was the knowledge gap, from a pure electrical engineering background. The first SLB training course gave me the opportunity to delve into the oil and gas industry and its knowledge base. Another challenge would be the desire to quickly understand and perform the job both technically and theoretically – as a trainee aiming to come up to pace, I would often put in a few extra hours off-shift to work with seniors and read operating manuals and guides.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to excel in the energy sector? Are there any specific strategies or mindsets that helped you overcome obstacles and reach your current position?
Never disqualify yourself. Never believe that you might not be fit for certain roles or responsibilities because of your level of experience or knowledge. Always do your utmost best at every task. Build your own reputation of excellence. Be a knowledge sponge, be teachable and expose yourself to as much knowledge as possible.
A career in energy can be demanding. Could you describe a typical day in your life?
Offshore life is quite routine yet immensely interesting. Routine in the sense of shift hours, meal times, rest times, rig layout and interesting in terms of the diversity of daily tasks. Troubleshooting and transformative thinking are top skills to possess for daily activities, with a dynamic outlook on the same. Working onshore has been similarly demanding with job preparations for example, logistics and technical expertise are at the core and this collaboration requires proper planning, communication, sharp follow-ups and timely execution of tasks due to the interconnectedness and co-dependency for the overall result.
Looking ahead, what changes or advancements do you hope to see in the energy sector? How do you envision your role in shaping that future?
From a young age, I have always been amazed at the abundant natural resources that we have in Namibia and simultaneously my empathy on poverty-stricken communities has continuously grown my enthusiasm for sustainable development. With Namibia’s expanding energy sector in areas of oil, gas, green hydrogen, mining, wind and solar energy and others, one’s priority would be the ability to contribute knowledge for sustainable expansion. Apart from having specialized my undergraduate final projects on renewable energies, I recently successfully got admission to Namibia University of Science and Technology for a Master’s of Sustainable Energy Systems. The ultimate goal of undertaking this course is for me to grow my knowledge area in sustainable energy systems which could also allow better understanding of global solutions and merging these smoothly into local needs. Furthermore, my employer, SLB aims to create and deploy technology systems needed to meet the world’s growing energy demand while simultaneously reducing emissions, which not only makes it an honor for me to be a part of this company but also gives room for my contribution to technological innovations and global energy solutions.
