The president of Equatorial Guinea, the secretary general of OPEC and 20 African oil and gas ministers will headline the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) CAPE VII
The congress and exhibition in Malabo from 2-5 April 2019 is set to bring together top oil and gas executives and the leading energy ministers of the continent, as well as international policy leaders for a week.
The event will focus on policy reforms, the influence of Africa in energy geopolitics, and increasing cooperation among African countries.
Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, president of the APPO and minister of state for petroleum of the Republic of Nigeria, will present the APPO’s fundamental reforms and the organization’s goal of creating 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 across Africa, and the APPO is set to welcome new producers into the fold.
Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC secretary-general; Sun Xiansheng, International Energy Forum secretary-general, and Yury Sentyurin, secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), will speak at APPO CAPE VII. With Africa taking a more prominent role in OPEC discussions following Equatorial Guinea’s entry into the oil producer group in 2017, the congress will set the agenda for African producers’ interactions with global producers and markets in 2019 and beyond.
Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, president of Equatorial Guinea, and Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, minister of hydrocarbon mines, will present on Equatorial Guinea’s Energy Year in 2019.
The small country in the Gulf of Guinea has taken a leading role in joining OPEC on the international stage, helping to stabilise the market and leading efforts for pan-African cooperation in the oil and gas sector. For example, the LNG2Africa initiative will focus on monetising domestic gas, building regional infrastructure, and exporting gas from Africa to Africa. The Energy Year 2019 celebrates regional cooperation in Africa and focuses on a series of events taking place throughout the year in Malabo.
Important African ministers including Tarek El-Molla, minister of petroleum, Egypt; Jeff Radebe, minister of energy, South Africa; Pascal Houangni Ambouroué, minister of petroleum and hydrocarbons of Gabon; and 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 the focus on growing oil and gas reserves and creating attractive regulatory regimes for new investment stands in sharp contrast to many more developed markets around the world. Countries such as the United States, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand are chipping away from 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 discuss Africa’s upstream potential in the current geopolitical environment.
Other panels will address regional cooperation, downstream calls for investment, the potential for financing the oil and gas sector in Africa, and the need for economic diversification.
