The African Energy Chamber (AEC) – the voice of Africa’s energy sector – has signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) in Brazzaville. Under the agreement, the two parties pledge to work together to improve Africa’s energy security, drive local content and ensure African companies develop capabilities to become world-class operators undertaking ever bigger projects in Africa’s oil & gas and energy sector.
Barely over half of Africa’s population have access to power. Very often, this access is unreliable and unaffordable. The remainder of more than 600 million have no access to power with even more, an estimated 900 million, lacking access to clean cooking fuels.
The AEC and APPO jointly recognise Africa’s ever-increasing demand for energy and ultimately recognise that attempts to satisfy this demand adequately will have to be via the development of local and regional capacity. African private sector companies will have to increase their abilities to generate the necessary investments needed, as well as procure the required technologies and know-how to take on larger oil & gas and energy projects on the continent. Ultimately, the work of producing more energy in Africa should not be left solely to international and national oil companies.
The agreement enables the AEC to collaborate with APPO to enhance Africa’s energy industry by promoting local and Africa content development, intra-African energy trade, technology-focused investments and partnership opportunities across the oil & gas sector.
The AEC strongly believes in the potential of the private sector to mobilise the necessary resources to address the challenges in the oil & gas and energy sector that we see in Africa. However, governments across the continent must double their efforts to provide the private sector, both international and local investors with an enabling environment.
APPO, headed by His Excellency Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, was founded in 1987 and has, as principal objective, the fostering of co-operation in the field of hydrocarbons of its 18 member countries and other global institutions in a bid to promote the utilisation of petroleum for energy security and sustainable development.
“The Chamber is honoured to partner with APPO – an African-led organisation that serves as a vital platform for co-operation, harmonisation and collaboration – to advance Africa’s oil & gas and energy industry. We are committed to driving new deals, projects and partnerships that position local content and energy security as the highest priorities, as well as ensuring African policymakers, explorers, service providers and financial institutions lead the dialogue at African Energy Week 2024 and beyond,” states NJ Ayuk, executive chairperson of the AEC.
