African Energy Week (AEW) 2022’s Industry-Advancing National Oil Company (NOC) Summit Prioritizes African-Led Energy Solutions – African Business

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) is proud to announce the return of the National Oil Company (NOC) Summit at Africa’s premier event for the oil and gas sector, African Energy Week (AEW) (https://AECWeek.com/), which will take place from 18 – 21 October 2022, in Cape Town. Following a successful edition of the NOC Summit at AEW 2021, this year’s edition, under the theme “Exploring and Investing in Africa’s Energy Future while Driving an Enabling Environment,” will continue the discussion around the role NOCs play in boosting investments into, as well as the exploration and production of Africa’s hydrocarbon sector.

Oil production is falling due to declining output from legacy projects in African oil producing countries like Nigeria, Libya, Algeria and Angola. NOCs can play an important role in leading exploration activities to increase production. In Nigeria, for instance, Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, where production is anticipated to decline from 2023 onwards and no significant liquids project is expected to be approved or brought online in 2022, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has an important task to play in increasing exploration and ramping up production. The Nigerian government restructured and redefined the role of the NNPC in the petroleum industry with the implementation in 2021 of the Petroleum Industry Act. Since then, NNPC has operated on a commercial basis to drive exploration and production in a market-driven manner.

Additionally, with the exits of international majors like TotalEnergies Shell, Eni and ExxonMobil likely to impact production in Africa, NOCs will need to ensure that production remains optimal despite divestment. These challenges will be addressed by the NOC Summit, which features presentations and discussions on how NOCs can increase oil production across Africa.

In addition, investments within Africa’s upstream segment continues to fall due to global climate policies and as such a dire need has risen for African NOCs to reform business operations to attract investments. The NOC Summit at AEW2022 will bring together African energy stakeholders, government representatives, and private sector institutions to discuss best practice that will increase investment to boost energy production.

“African NOCs have a significant role to play in driving investment and development across the entire energy value chain in Africa, and the NOC Summit provides an opportunity to discuss this role while addressing the challenges and opportunities faced in the sector today. Extending on the success seen in last year’s summit, the AEW 2022 NOC summit will build an Africa-focused narrative on oil, gas and exploration,” stated Tomas C. Gerbasio, Strategy and Business Development Director at African Energy Chamber.

Additionally, Africa’s NOCs have a critical role to play in driving the growth of the continent’s gas economy, increasing collaboration with majors as well as financial institutions and stimulating development across the entire value chain. Algeria’s Sonatrach and Egypt’s EGAS have been leading in this regard, with the recent signing of deals with Italy’s Eni for increased cooperation to intensify local gas production to meet domestic demand as well as for increased exports to Europe.

Despite having 125.3 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, one of the world’s largest, Africa exports the majority of its resources while importing refined products due to lack of downstream investment and refining capacity. Africa’s energy crisis continues to affect the continent, with over 600 million people living in poverty. Angola, for instance Africa’s third largest oil producer with 8.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, heavily relies on energy imports, spending over $1.7 billion on imports to meet domestic demand. Accordingly, the NOC Summit will address the role African NOCs play in this sector, emphasizing how Africa’s state-owned organizations can increase investments from both the public and private sector to accelerate downstream development.

Distributed by APO Group for African Energy Week (AEW).

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About African Energy Week 2022:
AEW 2022 is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. AEW 2022 is an annual conference that brings together African energy stakeholders with international investors and partners. It aims to promote Africa’s potential as a destination for investment and drive industry development. Key organizations such as the African Petroleum Producers Organization, as well as African heavyweights including Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, have partnered with AEW, strengthening the role the event will play in Africa’s energy future.