The secretary-general of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), has come out in support of the recent decision by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production by around 2%, on the sidelines of Africa Oil Week in Cape Town
“It is a decision well taken,” said APPO secretary-general Omar Farouk Ibrahim, on the sidelines of Africa Oil Week. “I believe it is the right thing to do to save the industry and also to ensure that there is stability for today and tomorrow,” he said. The decision by the OPEC, which includes major oil producers Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as African countries and APPO members Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Congo and Libya, saw the price of Brent crude oil rise 1.5% to more than US$93 a barrel.
The decisionwas made following the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting on 5 October. In a statement, the organisation said it would reduce overall production by 2 mn bpd, starting from November. It said the adjustment was being made 'in light of the uncertainty that surrounds the global economy and oil market outlooks, and the need to enhance the long-term guidance for the oil market'.
The move comes in the context of a global economic downturn, the war in Ukraine, and the recent G7 cap on the price of Russian oil exports, as part of a new sanctions package against Moscow. Ibrahim’s comments reflect a growing assertiveness among African oil producers that the region has the right to chart its own energy course.
Keynote speakers, government representatives, analysts, industry leaders and panellists have all said that the hardships of energy poverty are every bit as dangerous as the risks of climate change. In this context, Africa is best equipped to determine how it can meet its climate commitments while giving its people access to the energy required to deliver a better future for its people.
“We must all remember that more than half of our continent’s people do not have access to modern energy – specifically electricity,” said Amani Abou-Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy for the African Union Commission, official AOW partners. “Africa's low levels of access to modern energy means that Africa will have to utilise all forms of its abundant energy resources to meet its energy needs,” he said.
Abou-Zaid said the AU was guided by Africa Agenda 2063, a development blueprint that calls for universal access to affordable and reliable energy for both production and household use in Africa. The AU recently adopted the African Common Position on Energy Access and Just Transition, which charts Africa’s development pathways to accelerate universal energy access and transition without compromising its development imperatives.
“Decarbonisation or aiming to reach zero emissions by 2050 is not fit for the African context,” said Rashid Ali Abdallah, executive director for the AU’s Africa Energy Commission (AFREC). “Perhaps it's fit for other regions of the world. For that reason, as Africa, we need to push development and exploration in the oil and gas market,” he said.
The AU estimates that more than 600 mn Africans live without electricity, while 900 mn lack access to clean cooking facilities. The African Common Position encourages striking a balance between ensuring access to electricity for socio-economic growth and smoothly transitioning to an energy system based on renewable energy sources.
