…as APPO Cape VII congress starts tomorrow
Representatives from Ghana’s Ministry of Energy and other stakeholders from the energy sector are set to participate in the seventh edition of African Petroleum Congress and Exhibition in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The event which kicks off tomorrow 2nd to 5th April 2019 places greater emphasis on policy reforms in the oil and gas industry across the continent with the aim of positioning African Petroleum for global development and value addition.
Recent new discoveries of petroleum have sparked fresh interest in exploration and production which has resulted in the need to institute major policy reforms in the sector. The policy reforms are expected to spearhead Africa’s influence in energy geopolitics which would in turn lead to increasing cooperation amongst African countries.
Organized under the auspices of the African Petroleum Producers Organization’s (APPO) Cape VII in collaboration with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the event will headline Africa’s most influential gathering for the energy industry by setting the agenda for African oil and gas producers – most especially the indigenous producers, to interact with their global counterparts in 2019 and beyond.
The congress is expected to bring together top oil and gas executives and the continent’s leading energy ministers, as well as international policy leaders; 20 African governments, more than a dozen multinational oil and gas companies and over 50 exhibitors and sponsors. Public and private sector petroleum stakeholders, will also be present to take both long-term and short-term positions on the continents oil and gas sector.
This presents the opportunity for Ghana to continue with the ongoing discussions with Equatorial Guinea aimed at getting crude oil supplies on concessionary basis to operationalize the activities of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). In February, sector Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu led government’s delegations to Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria to finalize the process in anticipation of getting crude from one of the countries.
It will be recalled that in 2010, Equatorial Guinea agreed to supply Ghana with 2 million barrels of crude oil per year in a deal meant to help Ghana’s debt-ridden refinery continue operating.
By Dundas Whigham
