The President of Equatorial Guinea, the Secretary General of OPEC and 20 African oil and gas ministers will headline Africa’s most influential gathering for the energy industry. The African Petroleum Producers Organization’s Cape VII Congress and Exhibition on April 2-5 in Malabo is set to bring together top oil and gas executives and the continent’s leading energy ministers, as well as international policy leaders.
The event will focus on policy reforms, Africa’s influence in energy geopolitics and increasing cooperation amongst African countries. In all, the conference will bring together more than 20 African governments, more than a dozen national oil companies and over 50 exhibitors and sponsors.
H.E. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, President of the African Petroleum Producers Organization and the Minister of State for Petroleum of the Republic of Nigeria, will present on the foundational reforms of APPO, and the organization’s aim to create a strong unifier of African oil producers on the international stage. New discoveries throughout Africa, from Mozambique and Namibia to Senegal and Mauritania, have sparked fresh interest in exploration and production throughout Africa and mean APPO is set to welcome new producers into the fold.
H.E. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC; Dr Sun Xiansheng, Secretary General of the International Energy Forum and H.E. Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) are all speaking at APPO CAPE VII. With Africa taking a more prominent role in OPEC discussions following the entry of Equatorial Guinea to the group of oil producers in 2017, APPO CAPE VII will set the agenda for African producers’ interactions with global producers and markets in 2019 and beyond.
H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea, and H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines of Hydrocarbons, will be presenting on Equatorial Guinea’s Year of Energy in 2019. The small country in the Gulf of Guinea has taken a leading role on the international stage — joining OPEC, assisting in stabilizing the market and leading efforts for pan-African cooperation in the oil and gas sector. The LNG2Africa initiative, for example, will focus on monetizing domestic gas, building up regional infrastructure and exporting gas from Africa to Africa. The Year of Energy 2019 celebrates regional cooperation in Africa and is centered on a series of events taking place in Malabo throughout the year.
Key African ministers including H.E. Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum, Egypt; H.E. Jeff Radebe, Minister of Energy, South Africa; H.E. Pascal Houangni Ambouroué, Minister of Petroleum & Hydrocarbons, Gabon; and H.E Abdourahmane Cissé, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and the Development of Renewable Energy, Côte d’Ivoire are set to address issues of oil and gas infrastructure and regional cooperation at APPO CAPE VII.
The fresh wave of energy investment in Africa – and indeed the focus on growing oil and gas reserves and creating attractive regulatory regimes for new investment – stands in stark contrast to many more developed markets around the world. Countries like the United States, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand are chipping away at global exploration potential, with New Zealand banning new exploration altogether.
Top industry executives, including Guy Maurice, Senior Vice President for Africa, Total; Mounir Bouaziz, Vice President, Africa and South America, Shell; Andrew G. Inglis, CEO, Kosmos Energy; Jean-Michel Jacoulot, CEO, Trident and Tim O’Hanlon, VP, Tullow Oil will speak on Africa’s upstream potential in the current geopolitical environment.
Other panels will tackle regional cooperation, downstream calls for investment, the potential for financing Africa’s oil and gas sector, and the need for economic diversification.
