As part of its Member Country visits, the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) has visited the Republic of Ghana, where frank conversations were held with the country’s leadership on the future of Oil and Gas in Africa.
Ghana’s President Nana Akuffo-Addo played host to the APPO delegation led by Secretary-General, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim. The working visit held recently in mid-September 2023.
The APPO Secretary General informed Akuffo-Addo that negotiations on the establishment of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) have been completed, and that relevant documents will be presented at the next Session of the APPO Ministerial Meeting scheduled to hold in Cotonou, Benin Republic on 2nd November 2023 for onward consideration and approval.
Farouk told the President that immediately after the reform of APPA to APPO, the Council of Ministers had directed the Secretariat to conduct a major Study on the ‘Future of the Oil and Gas Industry in Africa in light of the Global Energy Transition’.
He added that findings of the study showed that the African Oil and Gas industry faces three imminent challenges from Energy Transition and that unless Africa is able to address these challenges within a short time, it will be forced to declare the over 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and over 650 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves as stranded assets.
The identified challenges according to APPO are funding, technology/expertise and markets/energy infrastructure.
To further address these challenges, the APPO leader said the organization has gone into partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank) to establish the AEB whose main objective shall be to fund Oil and Gas projects on the continent.
In his response, Akuffo-Addo while welcoming the delegation, stressed that it was high time Africa began to look within for solutions to its challenges.
He also welcomed the level of cooperation and collaboration among APPO Member Countries and their institutions in the pursuit of common objectives.
President Akuffo Addo recalled that Ghana had expressed interest in hosting the Headquarters of the Africa Energy Bank, and directed that the APPO delegation be taken to inspect a building that Ghana is prepared to give as Headquarters of the AEB.
As part of recommendations at the First African Local Content Roundtable which held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria in June 2021, critical stakeholders advocated for a deliberate effort to establish a Pan-African Local Content Fund or Bank.
As an offshoot, APPO is commendably building on the gains from the two-day event – that was championed by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and facilitated by The Heritage Times HT.
“I count on all of you to support Omar Farouk as he takes the baton for us to move forward in order that the African Local Content will come to stay. I am passionate about the African Local Content Bank for funds that we should set up in order to support African business… so that we can push them to provide services for this continent,” Engr. Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of the NCDMB stated at the Roundtable meeting.
Other members of the APPO delegation to Ghana were the Managing Director of the Africa Energy Investment Corporation (AEICorp) – Mr. Zakaria Dosso; Head of the Secretary General’s Office – Mr. Bakary Traoré; Head of Energy Studies Unit – Mrs. Temilola O. George and Coordinator of Communication and Public Relations – Mr. Dany Danzoumbé Padiré.
Ghana, Senegal an Namibia are the newest members of APPO. They all secured membership in 2022. Nigeria, South Africa, Niger, Libya, Gabon, Equitorial Guinea, Egypt, Cote D’Ivoire, DRC, Congo, Chad and Cameroon are other members of APPO.
