OGR June - July Edition 2021

GECF INTERVIEW

“Africa dominates the GECF

agenda”

GECF Sec-Gen says about 6 African countries is

a member of GECF, accoun ng for more than

90% of Africa’s proven natural gas reserves.

SNEPCO INTERVIEW

“I have grown my skills

through the support of Shell”

Bayo Ojulari: “I am thanking all my colleagues in

Shell for their support and for inspiring me to be

at my best for most of my me in Shell.

OIL AND GAS

REPUBLIC

OIL AND GAS REPUBLIC

www.oilandgasrepublic.com

Special

Edition

June - July (2021) Issue

Spotlight

on

AFRICA0IL & GAS

Growth, Challenges, Development Strategies

ENERGY WOMAN

:

“Even as we reduce reliance on fossil fuels, natural gas

will remain needed as the reliable partner of

renewables as part of the energy mix." - Iman Hill,

Executive Director of IOGP

I S S N 2 7 0 5 - 2 0 5 2

SIXTH EDITION

28-29 September 2021 V I R T U A L E D I T I O N

uiogs.com

Driving the final steps in

commercialisation and production

Two of the most

established platforms

for business in East

Africa’s energy sector

returning this

Autumn

Featuring

a combined

100+

expert industry

speakers

“Gatherings of this kind

are among many ways of

promoting the country’s

potential and showcasing

investment opportunities not

only in the oil and gas sector

but also other sectors.”

Rt. Hon Gen. Moses Ali, 1st

Deputy Prime Minister and

Deputy Leader of Government

Business in Parliament

7

17-19 November 2021 V I R T U A L E D I T I O N

eaogs.com

Positioning East Africa as the real

destination for oil and gas investment

Organised by

Discover the full range of participation options for these

events and the entire Africa advance network today

Dan Grogan

e: dgrogan@energyadvance.org | t: +44 7881 344 662

energyadvance.org

EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear Execu ves,

Oil and Gas Republic's quarterly magazine explores the global oil and gas industry, featuring the latest

trends in the energy industry. This par cular magazine is a SPECIAL EDITION dedicated to the African

oil and gas industry.

OIL AND GAS

REPUBLIC

Publisher:

Engr. Idowu Babalola

(MBA, MNSE, MEI)

Managing Editor

Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

Editor

Tobi Owoyimika

Legal Counsel

Barr. Jackson Olagbaju

Correspondents:

Genevieve Aningo

Ifeoma Ofole

Samson Binutiri

Oil and Gas Republic (OGR)

Reg. Number: 2347423

Oil and Gas Republic is an interna onal

publica on covering the en re value

chain of the Renewable Energy, Power

& Electricity, Avia on, Mining, and

Oil & Gas Industry. For more informa on,

please visit www.oilandgasrepublic.com

Email: info@oilandgasrepublic.com

oilandgasrepublic@gmail.com

Phone: +2348065187468

GECF INTERVIEW

“Africa dominates the GECF

agenda”

GECF Sec-Gen says about 6 African countries is

a member of GECF, accoun ng for more than

90% of Africa’s proven natural gas reserves.

SNEPCO INTERVIEW

“I have grown my skills

through the support of Shell”

Bayo Ojulari: “I am thanking all my colleagues in

Shell for their support and for inspiring me to be

at my best for most of my me in Shell.

OIL AND GAS REPUBLIC


Special

Edition

June - July (2021) Issue

As we all know, Africa is a blessed con nent of 55 countries with abundant energy resources, and the

con nent has been producing oil for over 70 years. In this publica on, we analysed some of the growth

opportuni es, challenges in the Africa oil and gas industry, featuring insights from industry experts which

should serve as development strategies to harness the oil and gas resources in the con nent.

Interes ngly, we had some exclusive interviews with industry leaders such as the GECF Secretary-General

of GECF, His Excellency Yury Sentyurin, Bayo Ojulari SNEPCO's Managing Director, among others...Recently,

GECF published its fi h edi on on the Global Gas Outlook 2050. According to the report, global LNG trade

shows posi ve resilience post-COVID-19 despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on gas produc on

and demand in 2020. You will find more informa on in this publica on.

As we progress, we will con nue providing more industry updates for your reading pleasure. Please send

your feedback or general inquiries and we will be happy to respond as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

Managing Editor

For: Oil and Gas Republic Publica on

EDITORIAL CONTENTS

BAYO OJULARI: SNEPCO INTERVIEW PAGE 4

DAN GROGAN: ENERGY ADVANCE INTERVIEW PAGE 9

PRODUCT LAUNCH PAGE 12

SPONSORED CONENT PAGE 17

INDUSTRY NEWS PAGE 20

LNG WORLD NEWS PAGE 24

ENERGY TRANSITION PAGE 26

LOCAL CONENT PAGE 33

NIGERIA OIL AND GAS PAGE 39

GUYANA SURINAME BASIN PAGE 46

WOMEN IN ENERGY PAGE 52

Spotlight

on

AFRICA0IL & GAS

Growth, Challenges, Development Strategies

ENERGY WOMAN

“Even as we reduce reliance on fossil fuels, natural gas

:

will remain needed as the reliable partner of

renewables as part of the energy mix." - Iman Hill,

Executive Director of IOGP

I S S N 2 7 0 5 - 2 0 5 2

HUAWEI INTERVIEW PAGE 58

TOP STORY PAGE 60

GECF INTERVIEW PAGE 70

AFREXIMBANK INERVIEW PAGE 76

AFRICA NEWS CONTENT PAGE 80

EXCLUSIVE

S N E P C O I N T E R V I E W

Bayo Ojulari

Managing Director, SNEPCO

SNEPCO’S Exceptional

Leader Bids Farewell

Bayo Ojulari talks to Oil and Gas Republic

about his career journey at the Shell

Group and how he has been able to

grow his managerial and technical capacity.

Interview by: Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

Bayo Ojulari was appointed Managing

Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and

Production Company (SNEPCo) in

November 2015, to provide oversight

and leadership to Shell’s offshore

business in Nigeria. He is responsible for

safeguarding Shell’s multi-billion-dollar

investments in four deepwater blocks

offshore Nigeria and managing more

than 600 professional staff from several

nationalities backed by the technical

expertise of the Royal Dutch Shell Group.

His appointment is one of the highlights

of a stellar career that began about 30

years ago.A graduate of Mechanical

Engineering from Ahmadu Bello

University, Zaria, after a stint in Elf

Aquitaine as the first Nigerian Process

Engineer, Bayo joined the Shell

Petroleum Development Company of

Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate

production technologist and has since

served in diverse fields including

Petroleum Engineering, Production

Engineering, Strategy & Planning,

Economics, Field Development and Asset

management.

He is a thoroughbred professional having

worked in Nigeria, Europe, the USA and

the Middle East. His leadership of

SNEPCo has seen the company achieve

many Shell Group & Industry awards.

Bayo has also received a good number of

personal awards for professional excellence.

He is a COREN Registered Engineer, a Fellow

of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE),

Society of Petroleum Engineers and The

Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

Bayo is a strategic thinker, result-oriented

and a very good communicator. He is strong in

driving business integration and stakeholder

management with a bottom-line focus. He

actively seeks and enjoys adaptive learning

and sharing of best practices. As a highly

motivated leader, he demonstrates courage,

authenticity, capacity with mastery in

building shared visions, and passion for future

leaders.Bayo is married and with children,

enjoys beaches and music, and is now working

hard to go back to golfing.

In this interview, Bayo Ojulari talks to Oil and

Gas Republic's Managing Editor, Ndubuisi

Micheal Obineme, about his career journey at

the Shell Group and how he has been able to

grow his managerial and technical capacity.

Excerpts:

OGR: As an exceptional leader with over 30

years of experience in the oil and gas

industry and has also delivered great results

for the Shell Group in Nigeria, Europe, and

the Middle East covering many key areas

including Technical, Commercial and

Organisational. How would you describe

your achievements based on your track

records so far?

Bayo: I must thank you for your kind words. To

be so described, as an exceptional leader,

encourages me on the responsibility to

continue holding onto the values and

principles that help us succeed and continue to

be value-adding in our defined areas. I am

grateful for your kind description. Over the

years, I have grown my technical and

managerial capacity through the support of my

colleagues and the opportunities that Shell

Companies in Nigeria continue to provide.

These opportunities, always delivered with

robust collaboration, include;

• The privilege to lead transformation

initiatives that have generated major impacts,

in planning and strategy, in business level

transformation. Leading the drive towards

Well Reservoir and Facility Management

(WRFM) between 2005 and 2006, in Nigeria,

and the major transformation while on

international assignment in PDO Oman, that

generated a 50% reduction in life cycle cost,

were key landmarks for my career.

Also, the 2005 SPDC-wide organisational

review helped our beloved company to remain

competitive.

• I hold the belief that it is better “baking the

proverbial large pie for everybody to share

rather than competing for the small pie”. So, I

always work towards creating a portfolio of

opportunities and projects that are both valueadding

and economic-generating; these create

avenues for Nigerians to express their talents

and flourish.

• My passion has always been to contribute to

the development of Nigeria; Nigerians are my

passion. I am glad to be contributing my quota

towards growing local content; supporting

04

OIL AND GAS REPUBLIC I SPECIAL EDITION

SNEPCO INTERVIEW

Nigerian Contractors to close capacity

gaps while amplifying their strengths in

other to showcase their capacities.

OGR: What has been your inspiration

working with Shell Nigeria Exploration

and Production Company (SNEPCO)?

Bayo: Four key areas of our operations

always inspire me. i. Operational

Excellence: Bonga is the flagship

floating production storage and

offloading (FPSO) in Nigeria and, in

2016, Bonga won the Deepwater Asset

of The Year Award.

I am always delighted that an asset

operated in Nigeria by Nigerians

competes favourably with global

standards. It is a great pleasure that the

world acknowledges Nigerians’ global

competitiveness and operation as an

asset to a world-class standard.

i i . S o c i a l P e r f o r m a n c e : T h e

transformation of our Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) projects from

multiple projects with a lack of thematic

focus to three priority areas of health,

education and sports, and the impact

that we have made over the short

period is inspirational. Now, SNEPCo

easily demonstrates its impact all over

the country.

iii. Nigerian Content Achievement:

M a x i m i z i n g N i g e r i a n C o n t e n t

achievements while initiating and

maturing new projects is another key

area of inspiration. At my resumption as

Managing Director of SNEPCo, the

company’s development funnel was

virtually empty.

So, I concentrated my efforts on

creating opportunities, motivating

people to see how

ENGR. BAYO BASHIR

OJULARI, FNSE

we can revive the Bonga South West Aparo

(BSWA) project, working with people to

ensure the project became cost-effective,

building partnerships with Houston and

Brazil and ensuring stakeholders alignment.

I also focused attention on Bonga North

which had been sub-economic. We worked

to reduce the development cost to make it

economically right through the tie back to

the Bonga Main, while leveraging global

expertise to prove that we can extend the

life of the asset for another 10 years in situ,

without dry-docking, converting the

sleeping asset to a great giant. Today, the

story of BSWA and Bonga North has

changed, with prospects for generating

value for Shell, Nigeria and co-ventures with

a lot of Nigerian Content opportunities.

iv. Talent of SNEPCo: I quickly recognised

that the opportunity I had to be the MD was

a singular one to unleash the talent of

SNEPCo and to inspire the younger people

to move forward. They have contributed to

operational excellence and it is everybody in

the team. So, creating a platform that allows

my staff, colleagues, and contractors to

express their full capacity, and seeing future

leaders grow within and outside the

industry, excite and inspire me.

OGR: Please feel free to share with us some

of your fascinating journey in the Nigerian

oil and gas industry?

Bayo: My response will be in three

segments: early career, mid-career and latecareer.

Early Career: The privilege to have

had a solid and broad foundation in the

fundamentals of upstream Exploration &

P r o d u c t i o n ( E & P ) c a n n o t b e

overemphasised. My first 5 years, working

briefly for Elf as a commissioning, process

engineer; then I got into Petroleum

engineering, geosciences, logistics and

HSSE accountability as a project engineer.

These ensured that I was well-grounded

early on in my career as I actively

participated in the complete span of the

upstream business.

Mid-Career: The privilege to get three

international assignments was such an

impactful period and fit for purpose. I was

opportune to lead integrated technical

teams, deepened my know-how of E&P

economics, and worked in technical

planning, financial planning and budget.

I had in my team finance staff and team

members from other disciplines. Along the

line, I was able to build Technical

Authorities and Subject Matter Experts

(SMEs) that are Nigerians, dedicated 16

positions to technical consultants, exposed

got them to training, conferences both

within and outside Nigeria. This is

something I am quite proud to mention.

Late Career: I consider the last 7-8 years as

my late-career period. I was Asset Manager,

Development Director for SPDC and, for six

years, General Manager Development for

Shell Companies in Nigeria. I also acted as

the Technical Vice President.

At the same time, I was a Director on the

Board of SPDC and, later, SNEPCo. Over

this period, I deepened my corporate

governance understanding and got into the

management of shareholders’ interest, as

SNEPCO MD. I entered the frontline of

external stakeholders’ management.

Managing a Business Unit, including

performance and budget, has been a great

experience.

I also had opportunities to drive Nigerian

Content in projects and opportunities,

focusing on how to leverage Social

Performance to the benefit of the company

and country, and building Nigerians into

integrated Leaders BOM, Business

integrators. Two of the Asset Managers in

the new organization were talents that I

helped to channel their career through

coaching and experience.

OGR: The COVID-19 has made an impact

on major E&P projects, what has been

SNEPCO’s positive response to navigating

through the pandemic?

Bayo: I will say our response show three

things: 1) Care 2) Business Continuity 3)

Cash.

1. Care: People remain the most important

asset. So, we put in place a combination of

controls, necessary protocols, to ensure

that we respond adequately to any

outbreak. The success of this is that we

have operated our assets and rigs for

several months now COVID-19 free,

05

SNEPCO INTERVIEW

learning from the early stages

experience we had with COVID-19.

This strategy also involves collaborating

with other companies, ensuring that

their staff gets all that they require to

comply with the combination of

controls.

2. Business continuity: To ensure our

compliance with the new protocols, we

updated our work protocol. We also reprioritized

work, so that we have

manageable work at sites. For example,

maintenance activities that had been

scheduled for last year (2020) we

moved to this year (2021), pacing the

work to ensure we continued to have a

healthy and safe workforce.

3. Cash: We ensured reduction of our

operational expenditure using

technology, big data, Artificial

Intelligence, Robotics, building a digital

twin of the FPSO, to do all preengineering,

reducing logistics costs.

We continue to build on CAPEX

efficiency, actual cost of projects

review, new methodology and

technology all to reduced cost. We are

also increasing recovery to ensure

lower cost, giving us a low UTC.

5: What are the latest updates on Shell's

Pre-FID Bonga Southwest/Aparo

project?

Bayo: Unfortunately, we do not yet

have the good news. Shell, NNPC and

NCDMB completed the TBE in March

2020, and we are still waiting for

NNPC’s approval of the TBE outcome.

This approval will enable us to

commence the commercial Evaluations.

We have secured the 1st Bid Extension

from the bidders and we may have to

ask for a second extension. On a

positive note, though, we have

concluded the OML 118 PSC conflict

resolution and we expect final approval

in May 2021. This has been a protracted

negotiation that started in 2007.

It has been tough, but we are at the end

of it. This would help unblock other

PSCs that have been encumbered by

these disputes and we know that new

developments like BSWA, BN and BMLe

would benefit from this resolution.

OGR: A lot of conversation is going on

about growing Nigeria's gas reserves,

production, and distribution network.

What has been SNEPCO's cardinal focus

areas to bridge the gap?

Bayo: Our focus has, specifically, been to

ensure Operational Excellence on Bonga

FPSo to deliver 150mscf a day to the gas

network; develop the other deep-water

projects to sustain and expand on the

150mscf. We also focus on SNEPCO’s

contribution to OPTS to ensure that the new

PiB contributes to unlocking the best terms

of our huge gas reserves.

A few things to tidy up to ensure Nigeria

remains an attractive investment.

Deepwater NAG e.g. OML135 is

challenging and requires targeted incentives

to get the gas out of the ground. So, a low

royalty for the first 5 years would encourage

that. As of today, there is no Deep-Water

gas project.

OGR: Having said that, Technology, Local

Content, and Collaboration will play key

roles in the growth and development of the

oil and gas industry in Nigeria. What has

SNEPCO been able to achieve on that

aspect over the years? What strong policies

will accelerate the country's hydrocarbon

resources beyond oil?

Bayo: The question is a cocktail of pie and

apple because of the “beyond oil”

component. Permit me to focus on the

technology and local content component.

SNEPCo has been at the forefront of efforts

to localise its business, people, processes,

and supply chain. We were adjudged as the

IOC with the Most Impactful Local Content

Initiatives in the upstream category at the

2019 edition of the NCDMB’s Nigerian Oil

and Gas Opportunity Fair.

This is a recognition of SNEPCo’s deliberate

strategy to grow sustainable Nigerian

companies. The Bonga North-West tie-in is

a good example where technology, local

c o n t e n t a n d c o l l a b o r a t i o n w e r e

instrumental to achieve the first brownfield

daisy-chained subsea tie-in in Nigeria for

the Bonga North-West project.

We proactively identified and aligned

with a local contractor that had no prior

deep-water experience. However, with

effective stakeholder management and

t h e n e c e s s a r y s u p p o r t a n d

e n g a g e m e n t s , t h e c o n t r a c t o r

successfully delivered the topsides

scope.

In another example, there was a clear

need to shorten the time taken to

acquire subsea trees, to enhance new

oil production, and we saw an

opportunity to reduce lead-time for

subsea tree availability from 36 months

to 12 months and, recently, to 10

months, by ‘harvesting” and re-using

the trees on abandoned wells.

I am proud to say that we pioneered

subsea tree refurbishments in sub-

Saharan Africa – we identified local

contractors and regulatory body (DPR)

to partner with us as we implemented

dedicated procedures for the tree

refurbishment in strict adherence to

statutory regulations, codes and

standards. The work was carried out at

the OEM/SNEPCo logistics base at

Onne in Rivers State, with Nigerian

engineers and technicians playing key

roles.

Another more recent example of

technology is the development of, what

is known as, a ‘digital twin’ of our

300,000 tonnes, 225,000 barrels-perday

capacity Bonga FPSO. The Digital

Twin is a physics-based model of the

asset, which represents its entire

physical counterpart in detail and

accuracy and can be used to virtually

identify critical areas for prioritised

inspection, maintenance and repair,

reducing the need and frequency and

potential safety exposures associated

with physical inspections.

Dependent on a favourable investment

climate, our major growth projects can

create over 2,000 direct employment

for Nigerians and over 7,000 indirect

employment during the project

execution phase. Hundreds of Nigerian

Engineers trained in offshore

D e e p w a t e r E n g i n e e r i n g a n d

Construction and major opportunities

for local engineering & project

management companies as well.

Continuing partnership with NCDMB,

NAPIMS, PETAN, Contractors, Host

communities and other stakeholders to

seek innovative ways to reduce

development cost and unit operating

cost has been a huge enabler. Also, if we

do not get security right, and we have to

06

spend so much on it, our overall costs

would remain very high. Continuous

synthesis is required, and a sense of a

win-win for all the critical stakeholders.

OGR: Analyzing the Decade of Gas

initiative, is there a strong connection

between SNEPCO and the industry

players on innovative frameworks to

harnessing the entire value chain of the

Nigerian gas sector?

Bayo: Yes, there is, through joint

advocacy with OPTS to ensure the new

PIB captures the response of operators.

Investors in Nigeria and all over the

world are waiting to see how

competitive the Nigerian gas industry

would be in comparison to similar

investments across the world.

OGR: As a member of the executive

committees of the Sub-Saharan Africa

International Petroleum Exhibition &

Conference (SAIPEC), what has been

your major talking point?

Bayo: I have been part of SAIPEC since

inception with the NC team and you

would see my contribution through the

years. I was also among the team that

inspired PETAN to start this event. At

the first SAIPEC, SNEPCo was the only

IOC to sponsor it. We believed in its

impact. So, glad to see that our foresight is

confirmed.

We require a competitive fiscal framework

that can attract investment into Nigeria.

Funds from all over the world are looking for

the most competitive fiscal regime and

regulatory regimes to invest in.

We need to influence the executive and

legislature to ensure that they understand

what this means since we have a better

understanding of this expectation.

We also require the transparency of all

parties concerning contributions and

performance.

Currently, it takes an average of 5-7 years to

deliver the project to FID across the world

but, in Nigeria, this takes 7-12 years. The

execution and implementation of those

projects here are longer than in competing

countries because the performance is not as

transparent. As they say, we are as weak as

our weakest link. If all the key contributors’

reports were transparent and a national

dashboard could be seen, that would create

a simple transparent platform that would

drive the delivery. We owe it to this country

as this is the mainstay of Nigeria.

A n o t h e r t a l k i n g p o i n t w o u l d b e

consolidation and collaboration, combining

jobs of people who have similar capabilities.

SNEPCO INTERVIEW

Improving collaboration focused on end-toend

value creation for all players. There is

still a lot of value to be derived from

collaboration.

People waste a lot of time arguing on how

the pie would be shared, not focusing on the

opportunity to compete with EPC

contractors, lowers costs and attract more

opportunities for end-to-end delivery and

not just components.

OGR: What is your farewell message to

your colleagues at Shell; and what would

you like SNEPCO to achieve in the nearest

future?

Bayo: I am thanking all my colleagues in

Shell for their support all through my years

in Shell and for inspiring me to be at my best

for most of my time in Shell.

SNEPCo should sustain the One integrated

team mindset effort, the One family

mindset, care for people, pride in

professional excellence, empowerment of

leaders at all levels, giving them a voice so

that they feel proud of all that they do.

Bonga FPSO to be the best FPSO run

globally. We did it in 2016 and we can do it

again. The talent and structure are all there.

FID for BSWa, BMLE and BN.

ND Western Set New Target to Increase Gas Production

to 400 MMSCFD in 2021

ND Western Limited, an indigenous oil

and gas company, announced that it

will increase gas production from 360

Million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD)

to 400 MMSCFD before the end of this year.

Mr Eberechukwu Oji, Managing Director &

Chief Executive Officer, ND Western Limited,

made this known while speaking with our

correspondent at the sidelines of the 20th

edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference

and Exhibition in Abuja.

parties. This should happen within the next few

months.

"The period of construction of a project of that

size after the FID is about 24 months which

means that we should be able to complete it by

2023.”

Oji further explained that the company began

operation in 2011 after acquiring 45 per cent

equity of some multinational companies JV

with NNPC on OML 34.

He said the company was also planning to

develop its midstream business by establishing

Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Liquefied Natural Gas

and Compressed Natural Gas plants.

According to him, ND Western is the only

company that produces Non- associated gas in

Nigeria and controls about 20 percent of the

gas supply to the power sector for the

generation of electricity in Nigeria.

He expained, "ND Western currently supplies

over 20 per cent of gas to thermal plants across

the country in support of the Federal

Government’s Gas-to-Power programme.

"We also produce about 10,000 barrels per day

refinery in Uturogu, Delta State which will be

completed by 2023.

Mr Eberechukwu Oji, Managing Director & Chief

Executive Officer, ND Western Limited

“The Front End Engineering Design for the

project which is a Joint Venture with the

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

(NNPC) has been completed.

"This will be followed by the taking of the

Financial Investment Decision (FID) by the JV

Oji noted that Nigeria’s vast gas resources

should be utilised for national development,

adding that ND Western was committed to

actualising this objectives.

Speaking about the passage of the Petroleum

Industry Bill ( PIB), he said the National

Assembly should be commended for taking the

bold step after several years of delay.

Oji said the passage of the PIB was one of the

best things that have happened to the Nigerian

oil and industry.

707


ENERGY ADVANCE INTERVIEW

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Dan Grogan

CEO Energy Advance

‘We Have Built an Online Model with One Clear Vision in Mind,

Continued Connection and Interaction with Global Energy Industry'

Dan Grogan is the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of Energy Advance, a digitalised

integrated networking and events

platform.

Dan has been working in the events

industry for 20 years, delivering some of

the largest oil and gas events globally. Dan

has built up government and state

company contacts from all over the world

and takes pride in building value for all

stakeholders who participate in exhibitions

and conferences.

In addition to oil and gas, Dan has spent

several years delivering some of Europe’s

leading IT events and this combined

expertise has given him a unique

understanding of the importance of IT

solutions and Digital Transformation for

the oil and gas sector and the creation of

the Energy Digitalisation series.

In this interview with Ndubuisi Micheal

Obineme of Oil and Gas Republic, Dan

explains how energy advance is developed

as a subscription-based platform that

provides its members to participate in over

30 global energy events, in both physical

and virtual formats, webinars and digital

round tables, alongside access to all of the

speaker presentations and supporting

resources. Excerpts:

OGR: What is energy advance all about

and how will it continuously engage with

industry stakeholders amidst the COVID-

19 Pandemic?

Dan: energy advance is a fully interactive,

subscription-based networking, events

and information platform. This platform

serves to ensure our network continues to

benefit from one another, with access to all

our global industry conferences and

exhibitions, exclusive industry reports,

news and interviews from our global

correspondents, whilst also featuring

interactive discussion boards, individual chat

function and video conferencing for all

subscribers. This will in turn be supported by a

wide range of training programs, CPD

accreditations, special feature industry

showcase initiatives and our entire back

catalogue of invaluable event collateral for

research and development.

As to how we do business changes, energy

advance stands to ensure our business

community continues to remain connected and

engaged with one another, across all facets of

business development, research and growth.

They say necessity is the mother of all

invention. As we have seen the closure of major

industry networking events, international

travel restrictions, all key office staff working

from home and major limitations on face to face

meetings, a vacuum in lead generation and

business development have become a core

challenge for the majority of businesses. This of

course has driven the incredible spike in online

networking and video conferencing that we

have seen at late, with highly varied returns in

terms of quality and usefulness.

As we started to re-evaluate not only what our

clients needed in this new environment, we

focused on the practicalities and genuine

bugbear of navigating the online business

experience, drawing three main conclusions.

Networking online at home while a conference

session is ongoing can be daunting!

Expectations from the events industry in terms

of pricing when it came to watching

presentations on your laptop, were in some

cases unachievable for clients in the current

climate at best.

That some common sense needed to be applied

to the real value and delivery of the ‘online

business networking’ experience when it came

to events.

Our inspiration was simply driven by these

three key points, which drove us to build a

solution that offered a year-round

networking experience, with a genuine

community feel. To drive discussion and

interaction through our events, industry

news, live chat debate, and ability to reach

out and connect freely with other members

of the community. We feel that navigating

endless restrictions and pricing tiers to gain

individual benefits simply frustrates the

user. With a simple monthly subscription,

we want our members to have access to all

that our platform and network can offer. A

simple low-cost decision in hard economic

times, that delivers exactly what you need it

to.

OGR: Going forward, what are the

objectives and benefits it will offer to the

energy industry?

Dan: The key objectives and achievements

have always been centred around valuable

partnerships. During our eight years, we

have always ensured we commit to an

invested partner on the ground in-country

to guarantee our position is centred and

balanced to the needs and developments of

the host countries that our events take

place.

As we start to operate in the virtual event

space, we want to ensure we maintain that

core principle and philosophy in our

business model. As energy advance

continues to grow and we discover new and

innovative ways to expand, we hope to draw

fresh ideas, input and development through

new partners and providers, to guarantee

we keep the site fresh, informative and

driven from the heart of the key regions in

which we operate.

OGR: What makes this energy advance

unique, and what sets it apart from the other

digital platforms that we have been seeing?

09


Dan: With many event companies still

striving to achieve the same investment

levels they gained from previous live

events through their new virtual

offerings, all be it as a need to maintain

larger overheads, the consumer has

from our research, found it a continual

challenge to gain returns on their

investment by attending individual

events.

Not only is the expense quite high, but

the time is also limited, which makes a

major impact on networking and

interaction for lead generation and

business development.

With a low rate monthly subscription to all

our events and the many different

functionalities the platform offers, energy

advance ensures you gain the maximum

benefit with seamless interaction and

freedom throughout.

This all serves to ensure you have yearround

access to the community, where you

can call back on those that attended an event

with you, comment and connect on a discussion

point from a key prospect and engage through

informal chat or direct video conferences at the

ease and convenience of yourself and your

connection.

With varied platforms offering individual

benefits, the energy advance platform ensures

you are connected through a commonality of

interest and shared experience.

OGR: What are the available services in your

company for clients who have business

enquiries or seeking opportunities?

Dan: The core proposition of energy advance

stands to ensure all members can connect,

collaborate and create business development

and industry knowledge to serve the growth

and position of their business.

The defining decision to attend an event, be it

physical or virtual, is more often than not, made

to draw business. Be that through brand

recognition, fresh lead generation or

maintenance of existing clientele, events are

the perfect vehicle to engage with your industry

community.

Featuring over 30 global energy events per year,

alongside a wealth of networking and

community discussion programs, the energy

advance platform serves to ensure you gain all

the benefits of attending an event, 365 days of

the year.

We also have a range of options to build

bespoke showcases, webinars, marketing

promotions and lead generation exercises, be it

for a new product launch, brand awareness

campaign, or to position, yourself as a

knowledge provider and industry go-to.

Whatever your strategy for business

development, the energy advance team will

work with you hand in hand to achieve your

goals.

MODS, Energy Advance Signs Agreement for

Twelve Industry Events

Following the excellent opportunities

energy advance offers, MODS has

announced its sponsorship to energy

advance for twelve events that align with the

company's global growth strategy.

Kirsty Sweeney, VP of Marketing and

Communications, MODS, explains: “Not only

does this give us the chance to connect,

collaborate and create opportunities globally,

but also provides our team access to over 30

global energy events in virtual formats,

regardless of our location during pandemic

restrictions. I am excited to see how the AIpowered

business matching will bring us

together with governments, ministries, leading

associations, and organizations worldwide.

The opportunity to work with Energy Advance

to feature exclusive MODS news and updates

to a broader audience and promote our

partnerships, products and services through

the energy advance marketplace, provides us

with year-round solutions to driving awareness

about MODS solutions.”

Dan Grogan, CEO, energy advance,

commented; “The energy advance platform

was created with one vision in mind – to keep

our industry connections, to continue to bring

government, investors, industry stakeholders

and players together with all the benefits and

resources of attending a conference or event,

365 days of the year. It is a pleasure to have

MODS on board as a sponsor for 2021.”

Energy Digitalization Series Events MODS will

support in 2021:

ŸMENA Future Energy – 30th – 31st March

Ÿ2nd South America Energy Series 28th – 30th

April

ŸSub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum

Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) 2021

ŸAfrica Energy Series

ŸOffshore MSGBC 1st – 3rd June 2021

ŸUganda International Oil & Gas Summit 21st –

22nd September 2021

ŸAmerica Gas & Power Summit 13th – 15th

October

Ÿ2nd Morocco International Energy Summit

ŸThe Morocco International Energy Summit

Ÿ7th East Africa Oil & Gas Summit

Ÿ6th Lebanon International Oil & Gas Summit

This event will highlight opportunities and

provide invaluable insight into commercial

opportunities resulting from committed and

planned energy investments, whilst also

addressing the challenges presented by COVID,

recovering economies and the steady move

towards lower-carbon energy.

10 7


AOTC

Angola Oil & Gas Service

and Technology Conference

Part of the energy advance network

Hosted by

Intercon nental Hotel, Luanda,

and Virtual

23 - 25 November 2021

Angola Oil & Gas

Service and Technology

Conference

23 34 51 500+ 1200+

hours of

content

countries speakers a endees registra ons

“The Angola Energy Month 2020 addressed

the core challenges and abundance of

opportunities Angola has to unleash.”

Mr Bráulio de Brito

President, Associa on of Contracted Companies

of the Petroleum Industry of Angola (AECIPA)

CONTACT US TODAY TO

DISCUSS YOUR PARTICIPATION

Interna onal Enquiries

Faheem Chowdhury

fchowdhury@energyadvance.org

+971 50 282 9342

+44 7848 836571

AECIPA Members

admin@aecipa-angola.org

#CONNECTCOLLABORATECREATE | MORE AT ANGOLA-SERIES.COM

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Nexford University launches Online

Learning Programs to Energy Industry

ISQAPAVE Launches New ROV Technology

for Ultra-Deepwater Operation

14 15 16

Honeywell Develops New ‘HCR-25 Black

Boxes’ for Aviation Safety

SNEPCO Spotlights ‘Digital Twin’ Technology at

SAIPEC 2021

By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production

Company (SNEPCO), operator of the

Bonga North West oil field spotlighted a

new technology known as ‘digital twin’ to

continuously operate safely on the Bonga

Floating production storage and offloading

(FPSO) vessel located offshore Nigeria.

Bonga is the first deepwater project for the

SNEPCO and for Nigeria, which lies at a water

depth of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 feet).

The Bonga project helped create the first

generation of Nigerian oil and gas engineers

with deep water experience and stimulated

the growth of major industries.

Bayo Ojulari, SNEPCO's Managing Director and

General Manager Deepwater projects, made

this known to our correspondent while

speaking in an exclusive interview at the sideline

of the Sub-Saharan African International

Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC)

held virtually from 19 - 21 May 2021.

According to him, the Digital Twin is a new

technology that can be used to virtually

identify critical areas for prioritised inspection,

maintenance and repair, reducing the need

and frequency on safety exposures associated

with physical inspections.

In his words, "Our digital twin is the headline at

SAIPEC 2021. There is a quick win to get a

Nigerian company to do another digital twin for

SNEPCo, to open opportunities. It is key if we

support a company to build capabilities around

digital twin.

"I have been part of SAIPEC since inception

with the NC team and you would see my

contribution through the years. I was also

among the team that inspired PETAN to start

this event.

"At the first SAIPEC, SNEPCo was the only IOC to

sponsor it. We believed in its impact. So, glad to

see that our foresight is confirmed."

The Bonga project, which began producing oil

and gas in 2005, was Nigeria’s first deep-water

development project. A project that increased

Nigeria's oil capacity by 10% when output

began in 2005. Oil from the Bonga North West

sub-sea facilities is transported by a new

undersea pipeline to the existing Bonga floating

production, storage and offloading (FPSO)

export facility.

The Bonga project is operated by SNEPCo,

which holds a 55% stake. The other project

partners are Esso Exploration & Production

Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited (20%), Total E&P

Nigeria Limited (12.5%) and Nigerian Agip

Exploration Limited (12.5%) under a Production

Sharing Contract with the Nigerian National

Petroleum Corporation.

Today, nearly one-third of Nigeria’s deep-water

production comes from the Bonga and Erha

fields.

12


PRODUCT LAUNCH

Nexford University launches Online Learning Programs

to Energy Industry

By Ndubuisi Michael Obineme

Nexford University, an American

licensed online university

headquartered in Washington

DC, has announced the launch of online

undergraduate and masters degree

programs for the global energy industry

— with the objective of filling the skill

gaps many energy companies have,

whilst advancing digital technologies on

projects.

Nexford offers a wide range of Bachelor

and Masters programs, including

courses covering Artificial Intelligence

& Robotics, Cybersecurity, Data

Science, Financial Decision Making, IoT,

T e c h n o l o g y a n d O p e r a t i o n s

Management among other in-demand

fields.

Nexford's unique tuition model enables

learners to pay on a monthly basis;

making it affordable and extremely

flexible for busy professionals. Learners

pay a fixed amount per month ($80 for

undergraduate programs, $160 for

graduate programs), and are able to

take as many courses as they would like

each month too. So, the faster you

finish your program, the less you pay!

On average, an MBA takes 15 months,

for a total cost of $2,400 for the

program.

Nexford University’s Founder & CEO,

Fadl AI Tarzi, recently spoke with our

correspondent, discussing how Nexford

stands out from other, more traditional

universities. The main objective of Nexford

is to help provide an affordable, globally

recognized education to learners who want

to get new jobs, get promoted, start their

businesses, or want to move forward in their

career.

"We know learners want to build skills they

can apply immediately, they're not here to

learn theory. So, we balance between

teaching people how to learn - which is the

most valuable skill one can gain - and

teaching them specific skills they can apply

today and tomorrow.

"We offer a wide range of courses and

certificates in addition to our degree

programs. We are also able to create custom

bundles based on skill gaps companies

identify.

“Energy companies may find courses related

to digital transformation or sustainability of

particular interest. Data analytics using data

science could also be of interest given the

large amounts of data they gather and rely

on to make critical decisions.”

Established in 2018, Nexford University,

licensed in Washington DC, is a nextgeneration

university, committed to helping

people across the world realize their

academic, professional, and personal goals.

Nexford has already established a

community of Nigerian innovators, leaders

and moguls. A global university, suited to

local needs — giving you the option to pay

tuition fees in local currency.

At Nexford University, you learn skills you

can put to work. The programs bridge the

gap between education and industry.

Nexford is aligned with professional

business organizations, researched labor

market data and examined official

employability frameworks, such as Common

Employability Skills and the Connecting

Credentials Framework, to develop

industry-relevant and future-focused

competencies. It uses competency based

education (CBE), where you gain knowledge

– and apply it in life-like scenarios. Every

course contains competencies, and these

courses contain degree-level skills. CBE isn’t

vocational training – training for a specific

profession – but an education that prepares

learners to go down any number of

professional paths.

The main objective of Nexford courses is to

help you grow and strengthen your set of

skills – or competencies. Throughout each

program, you develop a broad base of skills

that are both relevant in today’s workplace

and widely applicable.

Each course, you build on what you learn in

the courses before.

14


PRODUCT LAUNCH

ISQAPAVE Launches New ROV Technology for Ultra-

Deepwater Operation

ISQAPAVE, the leader in NDT

Inspection and Technical Training,

has launched a new Remote

Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV)

technology to perform Ultra-Deepwater

inspections for flooding detection of

annular in flexible risers during operation.

The company officially unveiled the ROV

technology at the Angola Oil and Gas

Service and Technology Virtual

Conference 2020, organised by Global

Event Partners, and in partnership with

Oil and Gas Republic.

ISQ’s General Manager, Marcos de

Sousa, said that the oil and gas industry is

demanding more standards and highquality

products and services, which also

stands as a great opportunity for a

company like ISQAPAVE to develop a

unique technology to mitigate risks as

well as providing a core solution to the

upstream, midstream, and downstream

sector.

“Oil and gas industry is demanding more

and more competitive solutions. From

the current installed base and the proper

management of the asset’s conditions, of

their risks even for the environment.

From the upstream and midstream where

there is a huge demand to find the best

technological solutions to reduce CAPEX

and needed OPEX to operate, including

the downstream sector where there are

plenty challenges and opportunities,” says

Marcos de Sousa.

He adds, “Even in such demanding

environment, ISQAPAVE has always been

offering the best solutions for NDTs, Lifting &

Tubular Inspection, Mechanical & Civil

Inspection, Metrology Lab, Volumes & Valves

calibration and certification, Training and HSE

Services.”

In Angola, ISQAPAVE is offering its products

and services to international oil companies

(IOCs) for the supervision of Block 17

offshore NDTs, calibration of the equipment’s

offshore, Inspections on the ZINIA II Project.

The company has built a new Lab to boost the

Volumes & Valves Calibration and

certification and the INEFOP recertification

programs at the ISQAPAVE Academy

Training centre in Angola.

The company has built a new laboratory in

Luanda to increase NDT/LIFTING/TUBULAR

inspections as well as contributing to the

diversification of Angola’s economy, with

modernized services and quality standards in

the oil and gas industry.

ISQAPAVE is a joint venture between a

Portuguese Association known as ISQ and

French Association also known as APAVE.

They are all involved in the Testing, Inspection

and Certification (TIC) sector, with the main


technology research and development (R&D)

hub in Portugal.

As a result of this joint venture in 2005,

ISQApave Technologies (Angola) was born.

The sole objective of the JV is joining forces

and bring the required skills to provide

diversified quality services in Angola. This

combination of services in areas where both

are leaders and specialists in quality control,

inspections, testing, technical assistance, and

training has proved to be unsurpassed.

The company also provides services in terms

of civil construction projects, and outsourcing

QA/QC such as inspection on Roads and

Bridges construction, installation &

dismantling processes.

ISQAPAVE’s operational records are more

than 15 years in Angola, and over 70% of its

employees are Angolan trained and certified

technicians.

15


PRODUCT LAUNCH

Honeywell Develops New ‘HCR-25 Black Boxes’ for

Aviation Safety

By Borka Vlaci

So-called “black boxes” often take

center stage in an aircraft accident

investigation and with good

reason. The boxes, which actually are

painted orange to make them easier to

spot, record information essential to

determining the cause of an incident and

ultimately improving the safety of flight.

Without question safety is the No. 1

priority for everyone in the aviation

industry. Aircraft manufacturers,

government regulators, airlines, cargo

carriers, business aircraft operators and

e q u i p m e n t m a n u f a c t u r e r s l i k e

Honeywell constantly strive to make

flying as safe as humanly possible.

Safety technologies continue to evolve

and I’m proud to say that my company is

at the forefront in developing safety

innovations that help flight crews avoid

hazards on the ground and in the air –

innovations that save countless lives

every year.

Honeywell is already the leading

producer of black boxes, which are

actually called Flight Data Recorders and

Cockpit Voice Recorders. Now we’re

working with Curtiss-Wright to take

these critical technologies to the next

level using our unique expertise in realtime

connected aerospace solutions.

Together we’re developing the

Honeywell Connected Recorder (HCR-

25), which will include several

breakthrough innovations and

will meet the new European Aviation Safety

Agency 25-hour cockpit voice recording

mandate. The new recorder will meet EASA

requirements, which will take effect in 2021.

The HCR-25 is actually a “black box in the

sky,” which can provide airlines and other

users with continuous access to critical flight

data and cockpit voice information, even

when the aircraft is in flight. This is possible

thanks to a secure satellite communications

system connection that provides a 24/7 link

between the aircraft and a data center on the

ground.

In case of an incident the data can be quickly

accessed by the airlines and investigators,

who no longer will need to wait for the

recorders to be found. Since the key

information is available in near-real time,

investigators will be able to locate the site

almost immediately and will have faster

access to information that will help them

understand the events leading up to the

accident.

Airlines and other operators also will be able

to use the data the HCR-25 collects for other

purposes, such as improving operational and

maintenance efficiency. The recorder collects

data on thousands of variables including fuel

levels, altitude, engine performance,

temperature, direction and speed. With the

new Honeywell recorder, airlines and other

operators will have a valuable tool to improve

performance and reduce aircraft downtime.

Black boxes have been around for more than

60 years. In addition to helping us understand

“what happened,” they’ve led to important

improvements in aircraft safety. Now, with

the “black box in the sky,” we’re reinventing

recorder technology to make critical

information available when it’s most needed.

Honeywell is at the forefront of the

connected aircraft movement with reliable

connectivity anywhere, anytime. The

company's is a worldwide provider of flight

support services including: flight planning,

datalink, cabin services, flight following and

flight concierge services.

Honeywell covers the gamut of connectivity –

including satellite communications hardware,

flexible airtime service plans, and subscription

services and features to help you get

connected, stay connected and optimize the

connectivity experience.

As part of the company's track record,

Honeywell creates great flying experience for

Mark Wahlberg. Mark Wahlberg built a

reputation as one of Hollywood’s most

bankable stars by playing characters like

soldiers, firefighters, cops and boxers who are

willing to put everything on the line. But when

it comes to flying to acting gigs, charity

events, business meetings and family

vacations, safety, efficiency and comfort

always come first.

That’s why Mark and his flight operations

team partnered with Honeywell to upgrade

the flight deck, satellite communications

system and other products, services and

software solutions on his Bombardier Global

Express business jet. The upgrade helps the

operations team deliver a better flying

experience for Mark and his passengers while

also enhancing the aircraft’s value.

16


SPONSORED CONTENT

Jan Egil

Brændeland

Executive Vice Present of

Global Sales at KBR Inc.

Creating a new sustainable

future for the Oil and Gas

industry

Global energy sector leader Jan Egil Brændeland

writes on the challenges facing the global Oil

and Gas industry as it navigates through the

COVID-19 pandemic and measures up to

climate change. Excerpts:

After the shocks of 2020, the Oil &

Gas (O&G) industry must now

reshape its future. And while

fluctuating economic cycles are nothing

new to this sector, the impact of

COVID-19 and its ramifications is

unprecedented.

Many companies around the world are

struggling to survive. People are

working from home. Entire sectors are

periodically forced into temporary

stasis, and all of this is impacting

demand for O&G. So, how does the

future look for O&G over the next

decade and beyond?

Energy transition and a radically

different sustainable Oil and Gas sector

Between now and the end of the

decade could see a completely

transformed O&G sector. Long-term

demand is not going to rise, and the

industry now faces the urgent challenge

o f t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t o w a r d s

sustainability.

Since the middle of last year, capital

markets and the wider global economy

have rebounded faster than initially

anticipated. In the darkest weeks of Q2

2020, there was a distinct feeling of

economic dread. However, as we move

through the first month of 2021,

recovery continues at a global level.

While this is positive news, obviously

the pace of economic recovery around the

world is highly unstable. For example, the

UK is now in its third national lockdown as

two new strains of COVID-19 continue to

cause chaos. The US and much of Europe are

also battling rolling lockdowns and

restrictions when cases arise.

Predictions for the true normalisation of

economic activity depends heavily on how

the pandemic plays out through the winter.

More importantly, perhaps, it depends on

how long the vaccine rollouts take and when

the general public will be protected.

Assuming that this is a realistic outcome for

some point in mid-2021, there will still be

immense economic challenges ahead.

Muted business investments in the labour

market alongside significantly lower

customer spending, the inability of tourism

to get back up and running and the myriad

other major impacts of the pandemic mean

that the idea of returning to pre-pandemic

normality is just not going to happen.

Demand for oil and gas is rising but stays

lower than pre-pandemic levels

We saw demand for O&G plummet by 25%

in April 2020. Since then, it’s risen sharply

and finished the year with a loss of 8%. For

this year it seems that oil demand will

recover some more but remain about 4%

lower than pre-pandemic levels, according

to the base level case. Although estimates

from Rystad Energy put it at 7% lower in 2021.

Stocks have also underperformed by

significant levels, as the industry continues to

struggle against the need for mass

redundancies and cyclical layoffs. In 2020, US

O&G businesses made 14% of permanent

staff redundant. Research from Deloitte

shows that 70% of the pandemic job losses

sustained last year will not return by the end of

this one.

All in all, we are in a pivotal year of change for

the O&G industry. Companies are struggling

to survive and there will be a long-term steady

decline in demand for petroleum. This is now a

fact as a combination of consumer pressure

and international emission targets force the

industry to find ways to change.

Trends are shifting the O&G industry towards

sustainability

There are various short-term trends that we

will see throughout this year across the global

O&G sector. Traditional production methods

will have to begin changing, and the next 12

months will likely sort out the industry leaders

from those who will fail to grasp the urgent

need for transformation and sustainability.

Digital transformation will be accelerated by

O&G companies looking to reduce costs,

maintain operational flexibility and optimise

their capital ahead of future challenges. This is

a key move for any company in this space.

Without digitisation, cost-cutting and

intelligent strategising, there will be no way to

deal with the next few years of changing

demand.

17


TALKING POINT

The dynamics of the O&G market have

changed, and in turn, this alters the

financial outlook for shale operators in

the US in particular. Shale oil is

produced by fracking, and it's driven up

the US domestic production of crude oil

since 2014. Since then, the US became

the biggest producer of crude oil in the

world according to information from

the Energy Information Administration.

Fracking is deeply unpopular

environmentally, and the incoming

administration in the US intends to

move away from it. It should be noted

that the President has not said that

fracking will be banned, but that he

wants to “gradually move away from it.”

Biden says that fracking is necessary

until renewables are universally

adopted.

The only other countries that extract

enough shale oil to make money on it

are China, Canada and Argentina. Most

countries that still use fracking for shale

oil have taken some kind of step to at

least regulate the practice. But it

remains contentious and unlikely to

survive in a world that is increasingly

demanding proof of environmentally

conscious operating practices from the

energy sector.

In other words, the very future of the

shale industry depends entirely on how

it can work itself into a greener future.

Digital transformation is key for the energy

transition

Energy transition and digitalisation were

already underway pre-COVID, but the

pandemic has accelerated them. They’re

here for the long-term and forced into the

short-term. Digital transformation will be

the key to energy transition strategies for

O&G companies throughout 2021.

Digitisation will not only enable automated

operations but will also set emissions

targets for the short, medium and long term.

There is now little choice for energy

companies in showing the evidence for their

emissions targets. We’ll see more of this

kind of credible reporting from companies in

the sector as they become openly

accountable for energy transitions towards

sustainability.

The future has been forced forward for the

O&G sector. While moves were being made

towards sustainability and energy

transformation before the pandemic, years’

worth of commitments has been made in

mere months.

Changing towards a brand-new future for

energy production is not going to be easy,

and O&G companies are going to have to

make big choices.

Not every company will succeed, and the

following factors will dictate the changes of

strategy and direction O&G will take in

2021:

1. For the US, there will be an impact from

the new administration and a renewed

focus on clean energy.

2. The continued increase in impact

investing across socially responsible and

environmentally viable projects.

3. Change in demand from consumers and

end-use patterns.

4. Consolidation of an industry that is

changing fast in a permanently low-priced

environment.

The decisions made by O&G companies

through this year will change the path of the

industry for the next decade.

About the Author

Jan Egil Brændeland is a well-respected and

experienced business leader within the

global energy sector. He has around 27

years experience at the executive level with

recent roles as President of Oil & Gas and

more recently Executive Vice Present of

Global Sales at KBR Inc. Jan was also one of

the founders of SOCAR-KBR LLC which,

since its establishment in 2015, has grown

to 350 employees and a yearly turnover of

USD 100 Million/year. Jan served on the

board of directors of SOCAR-KBR LLC from

March 2015 until August 2020. Jan left KBR

Inc in December 2020 and is now an

independent consultant and advisor for the

Global Energy Sector.

Lightsource bp’s first Spanish project powers up in Zaragoza

L

ightsource bp has powered up its 247MWp

flagship solar project Vendimia in Zaragoza,

Spain. The five-project cluster was

constructed safely during the COVID-19 pandemic

and commercial operation recently began. The

total power output will be supplied to bp’s

European power trading team under a long-term

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Fernando Roger, Country Head for Lightsource bp

Spain commented: “The connection of our

Vendimia project, truly demonstrates the resilience

of solar. We had to face many challenges due to the

COVID-19 pandemic, but our team and trusted

partners remained focussed, and now we have

completed our first project in Spain. We would also

like to extend a special thank you to all the

landowners involved for their continued support

on this project.

“Lightsource bp’s ever-increasing local project

pipeline will provide a positive contribution to

Spain and the wider European Union’s renewables

targets, with the many co-benefits that our projects

deliver, like boosting biodiversity and local

economic development.”

Felipe Arbelaez, senior vice president for zero

carbon energy bp said: “It’s fantastic to see the safe

start-up of this first project in Spain, and for

Lightsource bp to achieve an impressive 3GW

pipeline in just two years. Through disciplined

investment and safe execution, we are delighted to

see the next chapter of bp’s energy story in Spain

come online.

“This project is also a great example of the power of

bp’s integration capabilities as our expert power

trading team will offtake the power generated,

supporting the financial stability of the project and

meeting bp’s strict returns threshold.”

Around 615,000 bifacial solar panels have been

installed, over 650 hectares of land on multi-row

tracker technology enabling the panels to follow the

sun, maximising energy generation efficiency. In

addition, two overhead transmission lines at 18km

and 20km were constructed to efficiently deliver the

solar power into the local network.

The construction process was handled by

Lightsource bp’s appointed contractor, Prodiel (an

Andalusian engineering, procurement and

construction company) and over 600 local jobs were

created during that time. Prodiel will continue to

maintain the solar cluster under an Operations &

Maintenance agreement for the next two years.

In just two short years, Lightsource bp’s local team in

Spain, based in Madrid has grown from 1 to over 60

full-time employees and the team expects to get a

further 148.5MWp of solar projects into

construction this year across Aragon. Lightsource bp

aims to recruit for an additional 30 full-time roles in

Spain this year as the company continues to build on

its rapidly increasing project development pipeline,

currently at 3GW.

18


An indigenous Cameroonian energy company that provides

specialized and innovative services in the oil, gas, solar energy,

and mining industries.

Our Core Activities

Marine logistics support services Distribution of solar energy products

Provision of technical and engineering services Distribution of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) products

Online and onsite solar training certification programs Facilitation, development and operating of solar energy projects

Procurement, sale and distribution of power generation products

With our expert international knowledge, local experience and partners, we ofer an eecient top-notch business

solutions and services with an impressive track record of solving energy problems.

Labacorp Energy, Ltd

An Indigenous Energy Company

PO Box 12344, Douala, Cameroon

681 81 80 29 | 699 86 84 77

contact@labacorpenergy.com

(+237) 667 90 85 24

www.labacorpenergy.com

Labacorp Energy

Labacorp Energy set to Launch PET Bottle Waste Recycling

Plant in Nigeria

Labacorp Energy is strengthening its

presence in the Nigerian market

through an agreement with its

Joint Venture Partners which comprises

MECEN IPC and Calaya Engineering

Services.

In line with its objectives, Labacorp Energy

and its JV partners will set up an entity in

Nigeria known as LMC EcoTech, Co., Ltd

that specialises in the development of

innovative technologies for recycling PET

bottle waste to become a value-added

product.

This is the best solution for recycling waste

products as the plant is designed to accept

various types of polyester wastes to

recycle a wide range of products such as

Filament, Fibers, Film, Food containers,

Lump, Chunk, Defective goods, etc… The

PET Bottle Waste Recycling plant will be

used to create new value from useless

bottle waste.

“The plant will recycle post-industrial and

post-consumer PET bottle waste and

produce more value-added products such

Bako Ambianda, Chief Executive Officer of

Labacorp Energy Limited

INDUSTRY NEWS

as rPET flake, Polyester staple fibre and non-Woven

geotextile which has a wide application range in

various industry fields. The target market of the

final product will be the domestic market in Nigeria

as well as the overseas market, “said Bako

Ambianda, CEO of Labacorp Energy Limited

“It will be the 1st full integrated PET bottle waste

recycling system in Nigeria from rPET flake to nonwoven

geotextile

Evy

production”.

Maffini

MECEN IPC is the world’s leading as well as one of

the Korea’s largest companies in environmental and

plastic processing industry. The company is

currently developing, manufacturing, and

marketing goods in sectors covering plastic

industry. It actively strives to straddle the top of the

market segments in which it operates.

CALAYA ENGINEERING SERVICES is specialized in

Industrial & Oil Field Chemicals, Well Operations &

Wellhead Maintenance, Corrosion Control,

Monitoring & Prevention, Steel Structure Design,

Construction & Fabrication, Cathodic Protection

Services, Sandblasting & Coating, Calibration,

Certification, and Pressure Testing, Hybrid Acoustic

Technology (HAT), Statutory Inspections and

Nondestructive Testing, Waste & Environmental

Management and Procurement.

Labacorp Group Becomes Seychelles Offshore Holding Company

Labacorp Group Limited, a dynamic Pan

African Company today became an

Offshore Holding Company in the

Republic of Seychelles.

Prior to moving the holding to Seychelles,

Labacorp Group was a Delaware (USA) holding

company. The re-structuring strengthens

Labacorp’s position as an African diversified

holding company with strategic investments

and core business interests in a variety of

industries including manufacturing, real

estate, solar energy, agribusiness, and

exhibitions with a footprint in Sub-Sahara

Africa, North America, and Middle East.

Bako Ambianda, Chairman of Labacorp Group

commented: “I am very delighted to announce

that Labacorp Group is now an offshore

holding company in the Republic of Seychelles.

We are now an International Business

Company (IBC) with advantages for Labacorp

to conduct its international business activities”.

The re-structuring is also in line with Labacorp’s

strategy of reinforcing its position worldwide

with a focus on Africa. Labacorp Group will

have a stronger integrated system to manage

and oversee the operations of its member

companies. The Group is currently working on

transformational projects that address some of

Bako Ambianda, Chief Executive Officer of

Labacorp Energy Limited

Africa’s critical challenges around access to

industrialization, sustainable power, affordable

housing, digitalization, intra-Africa trade and

access to capital.

Labacorp Group is committed to the

development and creating a positive impact in

Africa, with operations mainly in key sectors

that drive growth and economic development

and has wholly-owned & majority-owned

subsidiaries across the chain of sectors in

economic development.

Recently, Labacorp Solar Academy hosted its

June 2021 Certificate Ceremony at the Labacorp

office in Bonamoussadi-Sable.

The Basic Solar Training Program was the first

step for students to increase their green literacy

in the basics of solar energy. The Advanced

Solar Training Program provided the most

relevant solar energy industry education

offered both in our classroom and on the field.

The Solar Entrepreneurship Training Program

trained aspiring solar entrepreneurs to create

solutions that will solve energy problems and

meet local energy needs.

All our graduates from the May 2021 program

have been enrolled in our Growth Support Plan

which is an after-support program for LSA

graduates to assist them with a continuing

education opportunity.

Through the GSP, the graduates receive

constant support, networking, knowledge

sharing, and opportunities for grants,

fellowships, and advice from professionals.

“Our solar energy training add dramatically to

the growing trend of solar energy in Cameroon,

create jobs, build entrepreneurs, and boost the

local economy.” said, Mr. Bako Ambianda,

Founder & President of Labacorp Solar

Academy.

20


INDUSTRY NEWS

Cuamba Solar Pv Energy Storage Project Breaks Ground

In Mozambique

In a significant step toward a clean

energy future, Globeleq, a leading

independent power company in

Africa and its project partners, Source

Energia and Electricidade de Moçambique

(EDM) have celebrated the start of

construction of the 19MWp (15MWac)

Cuamba Solar PV plant and a 2 MW

(7MWh) energy storage system with a

ground-breaking event.

The Minister of Mineral Resources and

Energy, Dr Ernesto Max Tonela, was the

official guest at the power plant site in

Cuamba where the ceremony was held.

The project will contribute to the

Government’s “Energy for All” strategy,

aiming to have universal energy access by

2030.

The US$32 million project is located in the

Tetereane District of the city of Cuamba,

Niassa province, about 550 kms west of the

coastal town Nacala. The project is the first

IPP in Mozambique to integrate a utility

scale energy storage system and includes

an upgrade to the existing Cuamba

substation. Electricity will be sold through

a 25-year power purchase agreement with

EDM.

The project is expected to receive US$19m

of debt funding from The Emerging Africa

Infrastructure Fund (“EAIF”), a member of

the Private Infrastructure Development

Group (“PIDG”). Furthermore, the project

will receive US$7m in grant funding from

PIDG’s Viability Gap Funding (“VGF”) grant

facility and a US$ 1m grant from CDC Plus

to enable an affordable tariff and the

energy storage system.

Jonathan Hoffman, Globeleq’s Chief

Development Officer commented: “This

project is a trailblazer for future utilityscale

energy storage in Mozambique and

the region. Cuamba Solar, along with all

our energy projects we are working on,

cements our ongoing commitment to

contribute to the long-term energy

security and development of the country

on a low carbon pathway.”

Globeleq and Source Energia are also

developing one of the first wind projects in

Mozambique located near the town of

Namaacha 40km west of Maputo. In

addition, Globeleq has recently prequalified

to compete for the 40 MWp

Dondo solar power project in Sofala

Province and has been selected for two

15MWp solar projects in neighbouring

Eswatini.

Pedro Coutinho, Source Energia’s Founding

Partner and Managing Director added: “Source

is excited to have reached this significant

milestone to Mozambique and the Niassa

Province with the Cuamba Solar PV and energy

storage project. We are committed to work

towards developing projects that are in line

with the Mozambique energy goals for

universal access that are led by EDM.”

Marcelino Gil, EDM Chairman explained EDM’s

commitment to the country energy mix based

on the abundance of resources in Mozambique,

with the visibility to promote clean and

renewable energy toward the commitment of

universal access to energy to all Mozambicans

by 2030.

It is expected the project will need around 100

workers during construction, many of which will

be hired from the local community. The Spanish

company, TSK, has been appointed as the

project EPC contractor. Globeleq will oversee

the construction and operations of the power

plant, supported by Source Energia.

Evy Maffini

Glacier makes

appointment in

Norway to grow

local business

Globeleq Gis a leading investor, developer, owner and

operator of power projects in Africa. The company has

more than 1,400MW of power generation in operation

across 28 projects in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya,

Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. With a further

305MW being constructed in Kenya (52MWp solar)

and Cote d’Ivoire (253MW), and a further 2,000MW of

projects under development, Globeleq has a longterm

commitment to the power sector in Africa.

Source Capital is an independent private equity

boutique founded in 2015, sourcing investable assets

in Real Estate, Energy and general Private Equity across

Portuguese-speaking Africa, primarily in Mozambique

and Angola. Energy is a strategic sector and Source

Energia was created as the diversified renewable

energy platform focused on the development,

management, operations and maintenance of large &

small scale on- & off-grid projects.

Electricidade de Moçambique E.P. (EDM) is the

Mozambican state-owned electricity utility set up in

1977, two years after the independence of

Mozambique. EDM is the central buyer of electricity,

system operator, manager of the notational

transmission grid and operator of the energy

distribution infrastructure in Mozambique. EDM

generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity

in Mozambique.

21


INDUSTRY NEWS

DPR Positioning NOGEC to Become Africa’s Energy Hub

Following the establishment of the

National Oil and Gas Excellence

Centre (NOGEC) by President

Muhammadu Buhari early this year, the

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)

has reiterated its commitment to position

the NOGEC to become Africa’s energy hub.

The NOGEC, located at the Lagos Annex of

the Department of Petroleum Resources,

would enhance safety, value and cost

efficiency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector as

well as strengthening the country’s

position as a regional leader in the oil and

gas industry.

In his keynote address at the 5th edition of

the Sub-Saharan Africa International

Petroleum Exhibition and Conference,

SAIPEC, Engr. Sarki Auwalu, Director and

CEO of DPR, said that the NOGEC serves as

a one-stop shop to drive safety, cost

efficiency, and value for the Nigerian oil

and gas industry.

He further explained that NOGEC will serve

as the oil and gas industry cost reduction

centre and hub for industry best practices,

technical support, and competence.

“NOGEP will also act as the oil and gas

industry techno-economic bureau to

support government and its entities on

policy development and implementation.

“The centre has an integrated resource

complex which is situated in Lagos. It

comprises five integrated centres to drive

safety, value, and cost-efficiency.

Engr. Sarki Auwalu, Director and CEO of DPR

“These five integrated centres includes search,

rescue and surveillance command and control

centre, national improve oil recovery centre,

alternative dispute resolution centre,

competence development centre and

integrated manning and analytic centre.

“These centres are available to the industry for

shared knowledge, experience and know-how

to collaborate, and provide solutions to

pressing industry issues for the overall

development of the industry and vehicle for

regional integration in the oil and gas industry.

“NOGEC is also structured to host oil and gas

business opportunities desk as a focal point to

drive investment. This business opportunity

desk is to see where the opportunities are and

bring investors to partner across the segment of


the value chain. It will give investors’ confidence,

funders, financials, and participants a very

transparent platform for participation.

“Also, the centre will house the secretariat of the

African oil and gas regulators forum as a further

step to entrench continental collaboration and

developments Evy in the Maffini face of global dynamics and

pressure on fossil fuels.

Glacier makes

appointment in

Norway to grow

local business

“The oil and gas Africa’s regulator’s forum which

DPR is working to establish is in line with the Africa

free trade and we will be leveraging on the NOGEC

to energise Africa as one of the energy hubs for the

future.

While making his remarks about the event, Auwalu

noted that the SAIPEC has emerged as an important

platform for discussing regional issues, adding that

the 5th edition of the SAIPEC is “both historic and

monumental”.

He called on Africa to rise and tell its stories, noting

that “only Africa can grow Africa.”

DPR has the statutory responsibility of ensuring

compliance to petroleum laws, regulations and

guidelines in the Oil and Gas Industry. The discharge

of these responsibilities involves monitoring of

operations at drilling sites, producing wells,

production platforms and flowstations, crude oil

export terminals, refineries, storage depots, pump

stations, retail outlets, any other locations where

petroleum is either stored or sold, and all pipelines

carrying crude oil, natural gas and petroleum

products, while carrying out the following

functions, among others.

TotalEnergies Announces 2021 E&P Campaigns Offshore Angola

TotalEnergies, the world’s energy giant, has

announced its 2021 Exploration and

Production Campaigns in Angola’s

Offshore Oil and Gas Industry.

In its statement at the AOTC 2020, TotalEnergies

E&P Deputy General Manager in Angola, Eng.

Mutombo Dondo said that the group will be

developing several blocks in 2021, with a major

focus on reducing costs for its Deepwater projects.

According to him, TotalEnergies currently operates

up to eight blocks with a production of about

600,000 barrels per day in Angola’s Deepwater oil

fields.

He said: "Block 17 and block 32 are in production.

While block 16, block 06, block 20 and block 21 is

under development. Block 48 and block 29 is

undergoing exploration campaigns."

He added: “Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we

have been able to execute some projects. Our

projects include Zinia2 and we are working with our

partners to execute the project. We have installed

the sub-marine lines to commence production by

the first quarter of 2021.

“In block 17, we have the Begonia project which is

currently in the advance stage. And we also want to

upgrade our Girassol and Dalia FPSO to extend their

life span. It will be implemented by 2021.

“We also have a Clov2 project. We will start

production in the first quarter of 2021.

“These projects will provide several local content

opportunities for service companies in Angola.

“Another focus is to boost our operation on Natural

Gas production. With our New Gas Consortium, we

will be supplying gas to the Angola LNG plant.

“We are working with our partners to reduce

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Aside from the

gas flaring, we will be upgrading our equipment to

be more efficient in a way it will reduce greenhouse

gas emissions.

“Our ambition as a group is Getting to Net Zero by

2050. We have the capacity to reduce the

environmental impact and increase energy

efficiency on our operations.

“Angola offers several opportunities in major

industries and we are working on diversifying our

investment in these areas such as renewable energy,

LNG power projects, among others.”

Since 1953, Total has been operating in Angola and is

the first operator in the country with a diverse and

balanced business portfolio. The group’s business

portfolio also covers the distribution segment with a

clear ambition to establish over 40 service stations

in Angola.

22


INDUSTRY NEWS

PETAN Willing to Collaborate, Invest in Opportunities

in Africa


A

s part of its commitment to advance

regional integration, the Petroleum

Technology Association of Nigeria

(PETAN) has said that it is willing to collaborate

and invest in opportunities across the entire

value chain of the oil and gas industry in Africa.

The Chairman of PETAN, Mr Nicolas Odinuwe,

disclosed this on Wednesday, in his welcome

address at the 5th edition of the Sub-Saharan

Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and

Conference (SAIPEC) held virtually from 19th –

21st May 2021 with the theme, “Post-Covid-19

from Global Crises to Global Opportunity.”

Odinuwe called on African governments to

create enabling environments such as

introducing some key incentives and necessary

policies that will attract massive investments

into the African oil and gas industry.

In his words, “PETAN has been able to show that

indigenous service companies can deliver. We

are also an advocacy group that suggest and

guide government decisions such as the

Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring

Board (NCDMB), Department of Petroleum

Resources (DPR), and they also understand that

there is a need to interact, dialogue and

collaborate to bridge any gap in the industry.

“What has worked for us in Nigeria shows that

we have people who see our values. There are

lots of values that will be derived when you

work with indigenous companies.

“Ultimately, PETAN is fighting for Nigerian

entrepreneurs and we will continue to do it and

whenever there are new technologies in the oil

and gas industry, you will see PETAN companies

bringing these technologies into Nigeria.

“We drive the industry in a way that will benefit

our people but sometimes it is only government

policies that affect the way we operate.

“In Nigeria, we have a petroleum training

institute and universities but the problem is

‘Intra-regional Collaboration. We will continue

to create awareness for the industry to reach its

full potential.”

Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria

(PETAN) is a leading organisation that

represents oilfield services and technology

companies operating upstream through

downstream projects in the Nigerian oil and gas

industry.

PETAN is also a leader in the promotion of

innovative engineering and creative

solutions, that help advance the

petroleum industry both nationally and

regionally. The group was established to

bring together Nigerian Oil & Gas

entrepreneurs to create a forum for the

exchange of ideas with the major

operators and policymakers.

PETAN companies have particular

expertise and experience in well

engineering, drilling and completions,

fabrication and construction, EPC,

pipelines and facilities such as laying,

coatings, repairs, production operations

such as well testing, EPF, O&M, well

services such as wireline, slickline,

pumping, CT, marine vessels, ROV

technology and subsea services, seismic

acquisition, process and interpretation

and much more.

The Sub-Saharan African International

Petroleum Exhibition and Conference

(SAIPEC) is hosted by PETAN, which

stands as not only the largest event in the

centre of the region’s oil and gas hub but

also the only truly industry-led event,

held in partnership with the country’s

petroleum sector.

SAIPEC is organised by Global Event

Partners (GEP), in partnership with Oil

and Gas Republic.

According to GEP, SAIPEC attracts

participation from more than 120

exhibitors from 40 countries and 6000

visitors including 20 National Oil

Companies from Mozambique, Nigeria,

Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Uganda, Angola,

Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Equatorial

Guinea, and the Gambia. Over 72

industry leaders and global experts on an

insightful program and scheduled

meetings with thousands of industry

professionals.

Chief Timipre Sylva

Following the successful editions, the

organising committee of the SAIPEC has

added 5 new features to boost the

conference programme which will serve as a

platform to showcase the unparalleled

opportunities and achievements in the

African region.

SAIPEC PROSPECTING

SAIPEC Prospecting provides an unrivaled

opportunity for prospecting NOC’s and

governments alongside geoscience

companies to showcase the latest blocks on

offer from throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

SAIPEC WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

SAIPEC’s Women in Industry provides a

unique platform for some of the finest minds

of the oil and gas industry in Sub-Saharan

Africa to convene and connect, and put

forward solutions towards building a diverse

and inclusive oil and gas industry.

SAIPEC AWARDS

SAIPEC Awards will unite the oil and gas

industry’s most prominent, market-leading

and innovative companies throughout the

value chain together to celebrate Sub-

Saharan Africa’s developments and

achievements.

SAIPEC AFRICAN CONTENT SERIES

SAIPEC African Content Series addresses the

o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n t h e s u c c e s s f u l

implementation of local content across a

series of discussions from heads of NOC’s,

IOC’s and Independent and Indigenous oil

and gas companies.

The exhibition

Be part of SAIPEC’s international exhibition

and become part of the growth in the Sub-

Saharan African oil and gas market.

23


LNG WORLD NEWS

Global LNG Trade Show Resilience Post COVID-19, Africa

LNG Export to Grow Further in 2021 - GECF REPORT

Global LNG trade shows positive

resilience post-COVID-19 despite the

impact of the coronavirus pandemic

on gas production and demand in 2020,

according to Gas Exporting Countries Forum

(GECF) analysis.

As of 16th June 2021, there were 177 million

confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3.82

million deaths. Over 1.2 million vaccines have

been deployed which means that around 16%

of the world population has been vaccinated.

In the pre-COVID-19 era, global GDP was

expected to grow by 3.3% in 2020. While Gas

demand was expected to grow from 2 - 2.5% in

2020.

GECF noted that LNG supply was expected to

grow from 6 - 7% in 2020. While LNG FIDs for

175 Mtpa were targeted in 2020.

According to GECF, global GDP declined by

3.5% in 2020. Global Gas production slumped

to 3.5% and Gas demand declined by 2% in

2020. While LNG growth declined by 1.5% in

2020 and LNG FIDs for 3.25 Mtpa were

sanctioned in 2020.

Upstream activities and natural gas production

were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in

2020. This situation led to a reduction in global

natural gas production by 3% to around 3.8

Tcm, which is a loss of 115 Bcm driven by North

America.

The EU pipeline gas imports fell by 14% in 2020

due to the market conditions and COVID-19

pandemic. Asia dropped in LNG trade,

particularly in China and India.

However, FIDs on LNG projects were impacted

and about more than 170 million tonnes of

LNG project that was expecting FIDs in 2020

were cancelled/postponed.

Only one LNG project in Mexico and the U.S

with a capacity of 3.25 Mtpa took FID last year

while other FIDs for 170 Mtpa were

postponed.

Now, with spot gas and LNG prices having

surged to all-time lows converging to below

the US $2/MMBtu in 2020 - the COVID-19 era

was characterised by lower growth which

brought down all the market drivers and taking

the market into recession.

For the post-COVID-19 era, the GECF outlook

highlighted that there have been a sign of

growth following the rollout of the vaccines,

noting that the global economy is expected to

recover by 6% in 2021 and by 4.4% in 2022.

GECF has affirmed that the global LNG trade is

expected to rebound around 5-6% which is 20

million tonnes each in 2021 and 2022.

In Q1 2021, Gas consumption in major consuming

countries in Europe and Asia increase sharply which

was driven by the winter temperatures. About 40%

out of the 80 bcm which was lost in 2020 has been

recovered in Q1 2021 driven by the economic

recoveries of countries.

In the US, gas consumption recorded a decline in the

first quarter of 2021 driven by the rise of coal use in

the power generation mix.

In Q2 2021, pipeline gas exports from GECF member

countries to Europe rose by 12% year-on-year to 100

bcm which is higher than in 2020. Major gas exports

of about 80% go to Europe mainly to Spain.

GECF affirmed that global Gas demand will continue

to increase from 1.5-3% under two conditions which

are if COVID-19 restrictions are relieved and quick

recovery in gas demand in the power, industrial

sector.

Early this year, two LNG FIDs were taken. The first

FID is the Qatar LNG Expansion project (33 Mtpa)

which is set to increase to 110 Mtpa by 2025.

GECF has said that between 2021 and 2023, around

200 Mtpa of LNG projects are targeting FID with

around 23 Mtpa in Africa.

While the LNG price tag continues trending in the

first quarter of 2021, the NEA LNG prices recorded a

daily high of almost $40 MMBU. In February, it

reached a record high of almost $24 of MMBU.

Africa's GDP is expected to rebound to 3.4% in 2021,

and 4% in 2022. While Gas production will start to


Glacier makes

appointment in

Norway to grow

local business

G

Evy Maffini

recover in 2021 and will continue to grow further by

2022.

Africa accounts for 11% of global LNG exports and its

LNG exports have increased by more than five million

tonnes in the last five years.

Despite the decline of LNG exports in 2020, LNG export

from Africa will grow in 2021 based on the current

development in the oil and gas industry.

GECF's outlook highlighted that 26 Mtpa of new LNG

capacity is expected to be commissioned in Africa

between 2021 and 2027 which represents 17% of the

global capacity addition during this period.

Though the Inter-regional pipeline gas trade is still

relatively small in Africa with only two Sub-Saharan

countries - South Africa and Ghana importing pipeline

gas from their neighbours.

Besides, two North African countries - Tunisia and

Morroco import pipeline gas. While Algeria accounts for

about 80% of regional gas pipeline export.

GECF sees a bright future from LNG exports from Africa

to meet the growing energy demand and is supporting

Africa's LNG industry through gas supplies from its

member countries.

Africa is well-positioned to supply the emerging and

potential market. The continent is an attractive

destination for LNG business as Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory

Coast, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa are potential

markets.

Africa has great potential for natural gas and renewable

energy sources. Its economies are growing fast and

there is a cordial relationship going on between Africa

and the global community.

24


GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050’s

Fifth Edition Unveiled

The Gas Exporting Countries

Forum (GECF), the global

platform of the leading gas

producing nations, has unveiled the 5th

edition of its annual GECF Global Gas

Outlook 2050 (Outlook) at an online

event attended by energy ministers and

senior representatives from the

Forum’s Member Countries together

with a bevy of dignitaries and gas

industry stakeholders.

The Outlook is the most extensive

forecast of the global gas industry and

presents multiple forward-thinking

scenarios, from COVID-19 recovery to

hydrogen economy, up to 2050 – a year

by when gas is expected to firmly

become the primary fossil fuel of the

XXI century. The Outlook’s detailed

quantitative assessments account for

n a t i o n a l e n e r g y s t r a t e g i e s ,

environmental and climate policies, and

investments and business decisions.

The forecast remains the flagship

publication of the association of 19

member countries, which together

represent 70% of the world’s proven

gas reserves, 44% of its marketed

production, 52% of pipeline, and 51% of

LNG exports in the world.

Addressing the gathering via a

statement, HE Viktor Zubkov, Special

Representative of the Russian

President for Cooperation with the

GECF and Chairman of the Board of

Directors of Gazprom, said: “The Global

Gas Outlook, being launched today,

25

presents a quality assessment of how

macroeconomic conditions, energy policies,

prices and investment decision have their

influence on the development of natural gas

markets (worldwide).”

“At the same time, this new edition closely

examines the effect of the COVID-19

pandemic on global energy markets and

focus on the strengthening role of natural

gas in the energy transition.”

Commending the GECF for developing a

rigorous forecasting and analytical potential

in-house, HE Alexander Novak, Deputy

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

said: “The weight and reputation of the

GECF in the gas industry is steadily growing

and we expect that it will continue to play a

key role in shaping further vectors for the

development of the gas industry,

establishing mechanisms to ensure the

stable and safe functioning of the gas

market.”

“The development of the global gas market

largely depends on the BRICS countries,

whose energy balance will witness natural

gas’ growth by almost 50% by 2040. In

addition, the potential for the LNG market is

growing. Already, Russia is fourth among

the world's largest producers. We intend to

increase production from the current 29

million tons to 120-140 mt of LNG per year

and take up to 15-20% of the market by

2035,” added HE Novak.

In his overview of the latest findings of the

Outlook 2050, the GECF Secretary General

HE Yury Sentyurin highlighted the vital role

natural gas will play in the global energy mix

by raising its share from currently 23% to

28% by 2050, thanks to its remarkable

features of abundance, flexibility,

affordability, and environmental efficiency.

HE Sentyurin said: “The complexity of

factors and the multiplicity of stakeholders

within the energy sector results in myriad

shifting strategies that are shaping the new

architecture of the future. Nevertheless, the

mid- and long-term fundamental factors

that favour natural gas remain unchanged.

This plentiful, adaptable and, crucially, clean

source of energy will expand across Asia

Pacific, North American and Middle Eastern

markets.”

In his statement, HE Mohammad Barkindo,

OPEC’s Secretary General said: “The

publication of the Global Gas Outlook today

and OPEC’s contribution to it, are just

another sign of the ever-expanding

cooperation and dialogue between our two

organisations.”

“The potential of this dialogue is unlimited,

and even that much more essential now, as,

together, we unite with all of our industry

stakeholders to accelerate the recovery

from the ravages brought on by the COVID-

19 pandemic.”

J o i n i n g f r o m R i y a d h , w h e r e t h e

International Energy Forum (IEF) is

headquartered, Secretary General HE

Joseph McMonigle said: "As the only natural

gas focused outlook by the major energy

organizations, the GECF’s Global Gas

Outlook makes a valuable contribution to

global understanding of future energy

trends.”

"As a cleaner alternative to other fossil fuels,

natural gas offers the world a real chance to

mitigate climate change and meet shared

goals faster together. The IEF is committed

to helping advance the role of readily

available gas resources, new infrastructure

solutions, and innovative technologies to

facilitate smart stable and secure energy

transitions in partnership with the GECF and

other organisations.”


ENERGY TRANSITION

VP Osinbajo Inaugurates First Electric Car Made in Nigeria

Nigeria's Vice President Yemi

Osinbajo has inaugurated the first

electric car assembled-in-Nigeria

at the #MadeInNigeria exhibition event

held in Eagle Square Abuja on June 16th

2021.

In his speech, Prof. Osinbajo said that the

electric car is a fantastic innovation for

Nigeria and the making of the electric car

is a showcase of what is possible in the

country.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this after the

unveiling of the Made-in-Nigeria fair

featuring the exhibition of the first

electric car assembled in Nigeria, among

other locally manufactured products.

The Vice President drove the electric car

alongside the Ministers of Industry,

Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi

Adebayo and Director General of the

National Automotive Design and

Development Council (NADDC), Mr

Jelani Aliyu.

While speaking to journalists, Prof.

Osinbajo said “it was a very good drive,

fantastic. It just shows what is possible. I

am glad to see that this is an assembledin-Nigeria

electric car. You can charge it

anywhere. I think it is a very fantastic

innovation; fantastic product, and I can

tell because I just drove it.”

Other dignitaries at the event which is

part of Nigeria’s 60th-anniversary

celebration include the Secretary to the

Government of the Federation, Mr Boss

Mustapha, Ministers of FCT, Mallam

Mohammed Bello; and Information and

Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The Vice President also visited the

Federal Road Safety Corps’ headquarters

where he inaugurated the National Traffic

Radio, 107.1 FM.

There he described the radio as “an important

and strategic initiative in several respects. The

service will enable effective dissemination of

relevant information on road safety and the

provision of up-to-date information on road

conditions, as well as traffic status and

security to the public.”

According to him, beyond the core objective

of enhancing the operations of FRSC

personnel, the radio station will also be useful

in reaching far-flung areas for teaching and

dissemination of public health advisories and

general information to Nigerians.

Prof. Osinbajo then featured during the radio

station’s traffic report programme where he

gave live traffic situation report across the

country particularly from areas in and around

the FCT, Jos and Lagos. He was funny and

jovial about it.

“Good afternoon wherever you are in this

great country, this is Yemi Osinbajo, your

always ready, always accurate traffic reporter,

updating you on the traffic situation across

the nation.

“So, let’s go the FCT. As of a few minutes ago,

in the Keffi-Abuja inward section, traffic from

Nyanya under the bridge to Kugbo, towards

the city centre, is slightly free-flowing, with no

impediments reported.

“Umaru Musa Yar’adua way, the situation

report shows that there is a free flow of traffic

on both sections of the expressway. Kubwa-

Katampe, Wuse-Berger, traffic services unit

reports affirm that there is seamless traffic

flow with moderate movement of vehicles.

“Traffic update along Lagos-Ibadan

expressway as at 11:45 am did say that the

inward corridor and section of the

expressway is experiencing very slow but

moving traffic from the stretch of lotto to

NASFAT, Chinese company around Magboro,

Punch-Arepo inward, Warewa, due to high

influx of vehicles and the narrowed lane

around the construction area. The sharp bend

coupled with picking and dropping off

passengers, all that is causing some slow

movement around that area.

“Traffic from Plateau State from about 12

mid-day. General traffic within the Jos-

Bukuru metropolis is free-flowing. Jos-Hawan

Kibo, motorists are admonished to be mindful

of hills and steep bends around Hawan Kibo.

“Also, Jos-Bukuru-Vom is experiencing a free

flow of traffic while motorists are advised to

be careful around Ganaruwa hill. Jos

metropolis, road users navigating inwards

Polo-Gada Biu through the metropolis should

be mindful of heavy-duty vehicles and drive

with extreme care. At Hill station roundabout

to Polo roundabout axis is a sloppy terrain.

“So, the general conclusion is that road users

are enjoined to obey traffic rules, avoid

dangerous driving and use the roads as

responsibly as possible. All is going to be well

today, this is going to be a great and exciting

day. I am sure you are going to have some

really good news. Thank you, dear listeners,

stay safe always.”

Dignitaries at the event include Secretary to

the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss

Mustapha, FCT Minister, Mallam Mohammed

Bello and the FRSC Corps Marshal, Mr

Boboye Oyeyemi.

26


ENERGY TRANSITION


solarised which reduces emission,” he added.

While speaking about the Group’s low carbon

emission strategies, Sangster affirmed: “We

have developed a strategy to ensure all our

new project development is zero flaring and

our ultimate target is to get to net-zero on all

our operations by 2050.”

According to him, Total Energies has stopped

flaring gas at the Ofon Phase 2 project

offshore Nigeria since 2014. This is part of the

Group’s commitment to reduce gas flaring and

increase gas supply.

Mike Sangster

Managing Director, Total E&P Nigeria Limited

TotalEnergies Invests $3 Billion

on Renewables Per Annum

Total Energies, a Broad Energy

Company, that produces and

markets energies on a global

scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and

green gases, renewables, and

electricity. Total Energies puts

sustainable development in all its

dimensions at the heart of its projects

and operations to contribute to the

well-being of people.

On 19th May 2021, during the IOCs

panel discussion at the Sub-Saharan

Africa International Petroleum

Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC),

Mike Sangster, Managing Director,

Total E&P Nigeria Limited, announced

that Total Energies is investing $3

billion annually across all its business

unit on renewable energy.

substantial renewable business such as solar

power, wind power, biofuels.

“We are investing $3 billion annually across

our business unit on renewable energy.

“As part of our strategies, we want to be part

of the solution. We will also focus on gas

especially LNG.

“We are still producing oil as we believe the

world will need oil for many years to come.

“At the moment, we produce about 3 million

barrels per day between oil and gas. By

2030, we want to grow our production

levels to 4 million barrels per day.

“We will increase our gas production during

that period to about 2 million barrels.

“The Ofon Phase 2 project received an

Excellence Award on Global Gas Flaring

Reduction in 2015.

“Another milestone for Total is the Egina

project which started in 2018 with zero

routine flaring.

“All our new projects development including

the Ikike oil field project is designed for zero

flaring.

“We have reduced our flaring to 80% over the

years and we will continue to improve on that.

“We are also using Drones to check our carbon

emissions on our operation.

“We are using advanced technologies such as

Artificial Intelligent (AI) to help us analyse our

fields and improve efficiency on our

production,” he concluded.

Total has transformed to TotalEnergies

following the resolution from the Ordinary and

Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting to

change the company’s name from Total to

TotalEnergies.

The company’s ambition is to become a worldclass

player in the energy transition. This new

name and new brand identity embody the

course TotalEnergies has resolutely charted

for itself: that of a broad energy company

committed to producing and providing

energies that are ever more affordable,

reliable and clean.

Sangster noted that the Group has

developed a new business model in

growing natural gas and renewables

such as solar power, wind power,

biofuels.

He said, “We have set a target to

become a Net-Zero Company by 2050

and we will continue to grow our

“Some of the things we do in Nigeria in terms

of renewable energy, we sell solar lamps and

have sold up to half a million solar lamps

across Nigeria.

“We have a very active downstream

business in Nigeria with up to 570 service

stations and about 75% of the stations are

In Africa, TotalEnergies has invested $160

billion in deepwater exploration activities in

the last 10 years, While 20 percent of the

amount was spent in Nigeria.

According to the company, Nigeria plays a vital

role for TotalEnergies as the country now

represents about 10% of the Group’s global

production.

27


ENERGY TRANSITION


on natural gas, growing its low carbon

business, providing low carbon fuels such as

biofuels and hydrogen, developing carbon

capture and storage using natural based

solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas

emissions.

“In Nigeria, we are pursuing operational

efficiency in our assets and leading the

transition towards the use of natural gas as a

cleaner fuel to power the nation’s industries

and the economy as well as stimulating access

to renewable off-grid energy solutions.

Bayo Ojulari

Managing Director, SNEPCO

Bayo Ojulari Reveals Shell’s

Energy Transition Strategy

The Managing Director of Shell

N i g e r i a E x p l o r a t i o n a n d

P r o d u c t i o n C o m p a n y

(SNEPCO), Bayo Ojulari, has revealed

Shell’s Energy Transition Strategy

which is designed to bring the

company's energy products, services,

and investments in line with the goal of

the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Bayo Ojulari, revealed this while

contributing to the panel discussion on

“IOCs perspective on Dynamics’s of

Sub Saharan Africa’s Energy, Oil and

Gas as we Strive to a Low Carbon

Future” at the Sub-Saharan Africa

International Petroleum Exhibition and

Conference (SAIPEC) 2021, said that

Shell has set a target to become a Net-

Zero emission company by 2050 in

support of the Paris Agreement on

Climate Change.

He said Shell has set a short-term target

to reduce carbon emission to 6 – 8% by

2023, the target covers the emission

from all energy sold and not just the

energy that it produces.

Other measures put in place by Shell to

transit towards a low carbon future,

according to him, include the adoption

of new technologies for new projects

and these technologies feature a flare gas

recovery system that reduces emission on

each of the projects.

He noted that Shell is using innovative

technologies for the installation of

compressors, drilling with LNG fuelled rig

instead of rig that depends on diesel.

For digital technology, Ojulari explained that

Shell is also using digital technology not only

on an existing asset but also on the new

assets, adding that the company has

adopted the use of Remote Operated

Vehicles which are monitoring Shell’s

offshore operations.

“Our focus is around improving operational

efficiencies in our assets. We are looking at

fuel gas compressions, and optimising

power in our existing assets. We are seeing a

significant reduction in the greenhouse gas

emission in these assets.”

He revealed that SNEPCO launched a

‘Digital Twin’ technology on the Bonga

FPSO located in OML 118 offshore Nigeria,

which is a replica of the whole of the FPSO

making work easier and it significantly

reduces the overall emissions.

He continued, “There are six key levers that

Shell is focusing on globally which are,

operational efficiency in our assets, focusing

“We are ending gas flaring and improving our

operational efficiency. We have decreased

routine flaring by almost 90% in Nigeria since

2002.

“We are expanding domestic gas supply

capability. Shell Petroleum Development

Company (SPDC) is working with the Nigerian

Federal Government to deliver the Seven

Critical Domestic Gas project including Assa

North which is the major one and we have

other three projects which we are involved in

such as the Brass Fertilizer Development.

“We are also powering Nigeria open-air

market with natural gas. Shell Nigeria Gas

Limited (SNG) is the only Nigerian subsidiary

of an International Oil Company (IOC) in

domestic gas distribution in Nigeria. About 2

million traders have benefitted from it. The

market is growing as it includes shoemaking,

leather works, and many other activities.

“Traders in that market usually use petrol and

diesel generators to power their lights and

equipment. But, with the SNG, we are now

applying natural gas into that market. There

are more than 4,000 businesses that are

beneficiaries of our natural gas distribution.

“Another part of work we are doing is Offgrid

renewable energy supply in Nigeria. Shell

constituted an entity called Allon.

“Shell Companies in Nigeria provided funding

to create Allon where we have Independent

Non-profit investment in Nigerian companies

to build off-grid supply to homes and small and

medium-size businesses.

“Allon aims to create an enabling environment

for these start-ups and more than five million

people are now connected.

“Allon has invested in over 30 energy off-grid

companies and two major financiers leading to

more than 29,000 new connections to lowincome

houses and businesses,” he concluded.

28


ENERGY TRANSITION


neutral global operation by 2030. We are also

looking at various range of digital tools to

reduce emissions from our current operations.

This means by that time, the remaining

emissions from our oil and gas operations will

be compensated by nature-based solutions.

“We are test running hydrogen, ammonia,

biofuels. By 2024, we will have some of our

vessels running 300 hours with ammonia.

Ms Christel Kvalvik

Managing Director, Equinor Nigeria

‘Equinor is Focused on Onshore

and Offshore Renewables’

Equinor, a Norwegian energy

giant, has announced a new

investment focus in onshore and

offshore renewables, aiming to adopt

hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels as it

moves to become a net-zero company

by 2050.

The Norwegian energy giant has set a

clear ambitious target to use ammonia

on its offshore vessels by 2024 as part

of the company’s energy transition

strategy to explore opportunities in

offshore renewable energy sources.

At SAIPEC 2021, Christel Kvalvik,

Managing Director, Equinor Nigeria

Energy Company Ltd, disclosed this

during her presentation in the panel

session titled “IOCs perspective on

Dynamics’s of Sub- Saharan Africa’s

Energy, Oil and Gas as we Strive to a

Low Carbon Future.”

Christel said that Equinor has

developed a new international business

portfolio that includes onshore and

offshore renewables which make the

company take a more holistic approach

to work closely with government and

industry stakeholders to share experience,

technology, and resources.

She also affirmed that Equinor has

developed three pillars to become a netzero

company which are centralised on

carbon efficiency, renewables and

decarbonisation.

She explained, “We have assets and partneroperated

assets in more than 20 countries.

Equinor’s objectives are to turn natural

resources into energy for people and

progress for society.

“We are looking at electrifying some of our

offshore assets with power cables from

land, and offshore wind turbines.

“We are also doing integrated onshore base

ports which guide the totality of our

portfolio on the Norwegian Continental

Shelf on both production and emissions.

“In our new climate roadmap, we have

introduced the ambition to have a carbon-

“We have a very close collaboration with the

maritime industry on green shipping. We are

working together to improve selling patterns,

reduce consumption and developing new

fuels. We are also working very closely with

the Norwegian government, suppliers, and

with various industries,” she added.

Equinor is growing its renewable energy

capacity and developing as a global offshore

wind major while strengthening the

company’s industry-leading position on

carbon-efficient production in line with the

Paris Agreement.

According to Christel, Equinor has powered

more than one million homes with renewables,

offshore wind from UK and Germany.

In her words, “The second pillar in our strategy

is profitable growth in renewables. We will

increase our installed capacity on renewable

energy between 12-16 GW by 2026. This

translates to annual average growth of more

than 30% in electricity production.

“The final pillar in our strategy is

decarbonisation. We will look at this from

different angles. There is also a very important

building block for our net-zero ambition which

is Capturing & Storing C02 underground.

“Equinor has a long history of storing C02 in

the North Sea. We will build on this experience

when we are part of developing a full-scale

value chain for carbon-capturing storage,” she

said.

29


ENERGY TRANSITION

Chevron Powering The Energy Transition with Domestic

Gas Supply in Africa

By Tobi Owoyimika

Chevron is powering the Energy

Transition with domestic gas

supply in Africa through its

subsidiary companies in the African

continent. The company has said that the

continued development of Africa’s energy

sector is a critical factor in contributing to

the continent’s growth potential.

Through Chevron’s major investments in

several African countries, Chevron is

building on its existing assets and making

giant strides in Africa for more than a

century.

Today, Chevron is ranked among the top

petroleum producers in Nigeria and

Angola. Other areas on the continent

where the company holds interests include

Benin, Egypt, Ghana, the Republic of

Congo and Togo.

A SAIPEC 2021, Sanjay Narasimhalu,

Chevron's Director of Downstream Gas,

Nigeria/Mid-Africa Business Unit, made a

keynote presentation during the panel

session titled “IOCs perspective on

Dynamics’s of Sub Saharan Africa’s Energy,

Oil and Gas as we Strive to a Low Carbon

Future”

In his words, he highlighted that Chevron is

an active player in building a secured oil

and gas future in Africa, adding that the

company holds a strong position in West

African countries including Nigeria and

Angola.

He said: "Africa has abundant hydrocarbon

reserves including substantial gas reserves

but it remains significantly untapped

which can drive the continent for

economic and social growth.

"The continent is also blessed with a large

population of talented young people that

will develop a strong workforce for a

sustainable future.

"We have a strong footprint in Africa's oil

and gas industry with significant

investment. Chevron continues to invest

globally with its partners in countries in

Africa making it a significant contribution

to boosting the region's Gross Domestic

Product (GDP).

"In Nigeria, we have been operating close

to 60 years. Our key focus is reducing

routine gas flaring and over the past 10

Sanjay Narasimhalu, Director of Downstream Gas,

Nigeria/Mid-Africa Business Unit, Chevron

years, we have been able to reduce gas flaring

by over 95%.

"We will continue maximising gas supply to the

domestic market here in Nigeria. Our gas

strategy is to end routine gas flaring and build a

profitable gas business on projects which

support the Nigerian Gas Masterplan."

One of the first major investment Chevron

brought into Nigeria is the Escravos Gas Project.

The project positioned Chevron Nigeria Limited

(CNL) as one of the pioneers in creating practical

economic solutions for gas flaring in the Nigeria


According to the company, the Escravos Gas to

Liquid (EGTL) plant serves as a significant driver

to reduce gas flaring.

Speaking about the gas value chain in Africa,

Sanjay explained that Chevron has led major

developments in the West African Gas Pipeline

(WP) project.

He said, "The WP project transports gas from

Nigeria to West African countries such as

Ghana, Togo, Benin which have helped to boost

their economies.

"In Angola and the Republic of Congo, Chevron

continues to spur global efforts to reduce flaring

and carbon emissions with investment to

improve the country's environmental

performance, reducing flaring on fuel gas

usage.

"ALNG is the first LNG project in Angola and one

of the largest energy project in the African

continent.

“The Angolan Liquified Natural Gas (ALNG) Project

is commercialising natural gas resources in West

Africa which contributes to the Angolan natural gas

industry.

ALNG is operated by the Angolan LNG joint venture.

It commercialises associated natural gas produced

by Chevron and other operators.

Evy Maffini

"In 2016, work was completed in the plant

modification and production has started. ALNG

supports offshore field development with the

Glacier makes

appointment in

Norway to grow

local business

capacity to process about 1.1 billion cubic feet of

natural gas which helps Chevron meet the global

demand for a cleaner natural gas.

"Chevron holds 38% interest in the 87 miles

kilometres pipeline which is designed to transport

about 250 million cubic feet of gas from Block 0,

Block 14, to the ALNG plant. Gas flow started in

September 2016."

He added, "Chevron will continue to enhance gas

utilisation with a focus on areas that have a

significant multiplier effect.

"We have supplied gas to some number of plants

here in Nigeria such as the Egbin Power Plant. We

have signed several gas contracts with major power

companies and gas-based industries such as the

Dangote Fertilizer Plant.

"We are committed to further unlock Africa's oil

and gas resources for sustainability and

productivity.”

Chevron also holds a 36.7 percent interest in the

West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited, which

supplies Nigerian natural gas to customers in Benin,

Ghana and Togo.

In Angola, Chevron's major operations include two

exploration and production concessions – Block 0,

off the coast of Cabinda province, and Block 14, in

deep water. Gas export to Angola LNG (liquefied

natural gas) began in 2017. We have a 36.4 percent

interest in the 5.2 million-metric-ton-per-year

Angola LNG plant in Soyo, the world’s first LNG plant

supplied with associated gas, which is natural gas

produced as a byproduct of crude oil production.

30


ENERGY TRANSITION

GE Accelerating South Africa’s Energy Transition

GE has been deploying reliable baseload

and flexible gas power technologies

tailored to the needs of Sub-Saharan

Africa since the 1950s. Today, up to 17 GW of gas

power generation in the region runs on GE gas

turbines.

For South Africa, access to affordable, reliable,

and sustainable energy, while addressing

climate change ambitions is now critical. By

2030, the country aims to reduce its annual

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 28 percent

less than its 2015-set targets in the updated

draft of the Nationally Determined Contribution

(NDC) and become a net zero economy by 2050.

As part of efforts to drive understanding around

successful decarbonization, GE recently

published a position paper titled - Accelerating

South Africa’s energy transition with gas power

and renewables.

Chief Timipre Sylva

GE believes that a combination of renewables

and gas power will be the fastest and most costeffective

pathway to decarbonization for South

Africa.

Reliable gas technology solutions and

renewable energy sources will make

investments economically sound for immediate

emissions reductions and Gas will not just be a

backup fuel but will be the new baseload

capacity for the coal repurposing national

program.

South Africa’s energy needs are urgent

and changing the trajectory of climate

change will require a global effort built on

cooperation and coordination from

major institutions, government, and

companies.

GE strongly believe that together with

stakeholders and customers – the power

sector can serve as a model for other

industries in transitioning to a cleaner energy

future.

Senegal’s Petroleum Ministry, African Energy Chamber,

Others Held Talks on Energy Transition

The Minister of Petroleum and Energy, PETROSEN

and Cos-Petrogaz held high level talks with the

African Energy Chamber’s (AEC) leadership to

d i s c u s s t h e s e c t o r ’s p r o m o t i o n a n d

competitiveness, the national gas strategy and the

energy transition; Senegal is pioneering a

diversified energy mix that prioritizes the codevelopment

of natural gas and renewable

resources; the country’s strategy has favoured rural

electrification and industrialisation as catalysts of

economic growth.

Conversations focused on the country’s natural gas

development and monetization strategies which

highlights Senegal’s stand on the energy transition,

attracting investment and fostering a balanced

energy mix.

“Under President Macky Sall’s government,

Senegal has a history of fostering a balanced energy

mix and promoting the energy sector, through the

expansion of its electric grid and industrial park.

The country’s leaders understand that in the

context of the energy transition, Senegal and

Western countries are in two different realities and

President Macky

Sall

we must work together to find a balanced solution

to reach common goals”, said NJ Ayuk, Executive

Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

As an emerging gas producer, Senegal has been

proactive in building a cleaner, diversified energy

mix – uniting ambitious gas expansion plans with

large-scale renewable development – to both

facilitate an energy transition and achieve long-term

energy security.

The AEC has also invited Senegal’s energy leaders to

attend the chamber’s upcoming industry event in

Cape Town, South Africa, named the African Energy

Week, which will gather the continent’s energy elite

from the 9th to the 12th of November 2021 for a first

of its kind conference.

“The AEC will continue work to support Senegal in

various initiatives to attract investment into the

country and provide platforms like the African

Energy Week, for Senegalese officials and local

companies to be able to promote themselves”, Ayuk

added.

Since the discovery of over 450 billion cubic meters

of gas in 2016, foreign direct investment has flowed

into Senegal’s offshore gas reserves, including the

$4.8-billion Greater Tortue Ahmeyim development

led by BP and Kosmos Energy. Gas monetization has

become a key component of the country’s post-

COVID-19 recovery, which is expected to see

double-digit growth as high as 13.7% on the back of

first gas production in 2023.

Home to the largest solar and wind plants in the

region – the 20-MW Bokhol photovoltaic plant and

158-MW Taiba N’Diaye wind farm, respectively –

Senegal has also emerged as a leader in the field of

renewable energy in West Africa. Under the

leadership of H.E. President Macky Sall, the country

has cemented renewable wealth as a key pillar of

economic growth and power generation, aiming to

increase its share of renewable energies to 30% by

2025.

31

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LOCAL CONTENT

Chairman of Petroleum Technology Associa on of Nigeria, Mr. Nicolas Odinuwe; Managing Director, Nexim Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Mr. Abubakar Bello; Execu ve Secretary,

Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote and President Oil and Gas Trainers Associa on of Nigeria, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi

at the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the administra on of US$30 million Working Capital Fund for oil and gas service companies.

NCDMB, NEXIM Bank sign deal on US$30m Working

Capital Fund for Oil Firms

Th e N i g e r i a n C o n t e n t

Development and Monitoring

Board (NCDMB) and Nexim

Nigerian Export-Import Bank on

Wednesday in Abuja signed a

memorandum of understanding on the

administration of US$30 million Working

Capital Fund for oil and gas service

companies.

The Fund was conceived by the NCDMB

to support the operations of local oil

companies against the adverse effects of

COVID-19 Pandemic, loss of contracts

due to low oil price and ensure the

companies retain their personnel in

employment.

The Working Capital Scheme is one of

the newly introduced products in the

Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI

Fund) approved by the NCDMB

Governing Council under the leadership

of the Minister of State for Petroleum

Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.

Target beneficiaries include members of

the Petroleum Technology Association

of Nigeria (PETAN) and Oil and Gas

Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN)

that are commercially viable with a

business relationship with either an

International Oil Company or major

Nigerian Oil Company.

Giving details of the Fund, the Executive

Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye

Wabote stated that the roll-out date is July 1,

2021, and Nexim Nigerian Export-Import

Bank would provide matching funds of the

same amount in Naira.

He said “the scheme would cover loans for

working capital support and capacity building,

invoice discounting and capacity building,

including acquisition of low-end equipment to

service short-term contracts/service

obligations.”

The Executive Secretary also explained that

the maximum amount that can be borrowed

by a single obligor is US$1,000,000 or its

Naira equivalent, while the tenor of the loan

would be up to 12 months for Working Capital

loans and up to 3 years for Capacity Building

loans with moratorium of up to 12 months.

“The applicable interest rate shall be 5 percent

per annum all-in for Dollar-denominated

loans and 8 percent all-in per annum for

Naira-denominated loans and the rate shall be

fixed throughout the tenor of the loan.

Maximum processing time shall be 21

working days from the date the applicant has

provided all required documentation,” he

added.

He also confirmed that ”all applications for the

fund shall be through the web and NEXIM

shall develop and avail a dedicated portal to

facilitate the process, with access given to

designated NCDMB staff for monitoring and

necessary functions.”

Transactions that are eligible for funding

support include those connected with oil

service contracts, projects or contracts that

boost the operations and viability of a

qualifying service providers and transactions

for the supply of low-end assets or other

equipment for the execution of an oil service

contracts from IOCs/ major NOCs.

Wabote clarified that the Board’s Fund

arrangement with the Bank of Industry would

continue. He said: Our intervention with the

Bank of Industry is very successful. We audit

the process periodically and we have 98

percent compliance in terms of pay back of

the loan by creditors.”

In his comments, the Managing Director of

Nexim Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Mr.

Abubakar Bello explained that the financial

institution was collaborating with NCDMB

with a goal to support local service companies

to export their services outside the country.

He said: “As the oil and gas industry in other

African countries open, the capacities that

have been built over time in the Nigerian oil

and gas sector can be exported to other

African countries and even outside Africa.

“We are going to support the development of

capacities of indigenous servicing providers

to be able to take them to other oil economies.

Since services provide over 15 percent of

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), we

should be able to delve into other climes.”

33


LOCAL CONTENT

Execu ve Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote with leaders of the Diversity Sectoral Working, Nigerian Content Consulta ve Forum a er the signing of the

US$40m Women in Oil and Gas Interven on Fund in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

NCDMB, NEXIM Bank Deploy US$40m Fund for

Women in Oil Sector

Q

ualified women entrepreneurs in

the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry

can now benefit from the

US$40m Women in Oil and Gas

Intervention Fund deployed by the

Nigerian Content Development and

Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nexim

Nigerian Export-Import Bank.

The NCDMB is contributing US$20m to

the pool and it will be matched by the

same amount in Naira by NEXIM, to be

converted at prevailing official exchange

rate.

The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr.

Simbi Kesiye Wabote and the Managing

Director of Nexim Nigerian Export-

Import Bank, Mr. Abubakar Bello signed

the memorandum of understanding on

the administration of the Fund on

Tuesday in Yenagoa.

The target beneficiaries are firms where

women hold majority shareholding of 51

percent or where at least 50 percent of

management are women or where the

Chief Executive Officers and at least 40

percent of management are women.

According to the Executive Secretary,

the roll-out date of the fund is July 1,

2021 and the scheme would be availed to

both startups and existing companies.

The scheme would cover Manufacturing,

Oil Service Contracts, Environment

management, Leasing, Logistics, Catering and

Training.

He confirmed that the maximum amount that

can be borrowed by a single obligor is

US$500,000 or its Naira equivalent at the

official exchange rate prevailing at the time of

borrowing.

He added that the tenor shall be up to five

years and the applicable interest rate would

be five percent all-in per annum, fixed

throughout the tenor of the loan.

Wabote also confirmed that the maximum

processing time shall be 21 working days from

the date the applicant has provided all

required documentation and all applications

shall be through the web.

In his comments, the Managing Director of

Nexim Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Mr.

Abubakar Bello explained that the partnership

with NCDMB fits into the bank’s framework

for supporting inclusion as well as its strategy

to grow the service industry in Nigeria and

take it to the point of export to the West

African region and other oil and gas

economies.

Also speaking, the Chairperson of the

Diversity Sectoral Working Group, Nigerian

Content Consultative Forum, Mrs. Alero

Onosede commended the Board for providing

practical enablers to support diversity in the

oil and gas industry. She assured that women

in the oil and gas industry would take

advantage of the Fund to increase capacity in

the industry and grow the economy.

NCDMB's mission is to promote the

development and utilization of in-country

capacities for the industrialization of Nigeria

through the effective implementation of the

Nigerian Content Act.

Key functions of the Board include:

3To review, assess and approve Nigerian

Content plans developed by operators.

3To set guidelines and minimum content

levels for project related activities across the

oil and gas value chain.

3To engage in targeted capacity building

interventions that would deepen indigenous

capabilities- Human Capital Development,

Infrastructure & Facilities, Manufactured

Materials & Local Supplier Development.

3To grow and manage the Nigerian Content

Development Fund.

3To establish, maintain and operate the Joint

Qualification System (NOGICJQS) in

conjunction with industry stakeholders.

3To monitor Nigerian Content Compliance

by operators and service providers. This will

be in terms of cumulative spending,

employment creation and sources of local

goods, service and materials utilized on

projects and operations.

3To award Certificate of Authorization for

projects that complies with Nigerian Content

provisions.

34


LOCAL CONTENT

“As a region, what we need is to jointly support and

train local expertise. In the East Africa Crudeoil

Pipeline Project, Uganda is working with Tanzania

but we forgot to include Kenya, Southern Sudan,

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in

the project.

“These things happen because there is no policy

that will help the East African countries to work

together.

“We believe if we start working together, we will

jointly provide a wide range of services in

transportation, logistics, manufacturing because

there are some countries who have more expertise

over others,” Kyeyune said.

‘East Africa Should Jointly Create

a Local Content Policy’

The National Content Specialist of

the Ugandan National Oil Company

(UNOC), Jessica Kyeyune, has

advocated for a joint Local Content in the

East African sub-region.

Kyeyune noted that because the oil and gas

industry in the region is still in an inchoate

phase, the East African countries do not

have all the technical and managerial

expertise to meet the demands of the oil

and gas industry.

According to her, the East African local

content opportunity is diverse and its

success depends on the acquisition of the

right technical skills to build local expertise,

adding that countries in the sub-region

need to jointly support, train and build local

expertise for sustaining the sector and

maintaining global standards.

“The East African oil and gas industry have

attracted substantial investment due to

their cost competitiveness. The discoveries

have sparked a new wave of developments

that are likely to change the face of East

Africa as an energy producer.

“East African economies are on the right

track. Laws and policies that govern and

maximize in-country benefits from the Oil

& Gas resources are in place. They provide

for:

State Participation in Petroleum activities;

Procurement of goods and services from

local entrepreneurs, and resources, to

benefit the citizens.

technology transfer; Employment and

training plans, capacity building and

Jessica Kyeyune

National Content Specialist, UNOC

succession plans where there is no immediate

local capacity;

Given the lack of sectoral experience, the

challenge will be how to successfully

commercialize the

“The East African local content opportunity is

diverse and its success depends on the

acquisition of the right technical skills to build

local expertise.

“The nascent nature of the oil and gas industry in

the region means that the East African countries

do not have all the technical and managerial

expertise to meet the demands of the oil and gas

industry,” Kyeyune said.

Laying more emphasis on the need for subregional

Local Content in East Africa, she

regretted the exclusion of Kenya, South Sudan,

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo

in the ongoing East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.

She said that this is happening because no policy

will help the East African countries to work

together in the oil and gas sector.

“Local companies can jointly provide a wide

range of services for instance logistics which

entails the transportation of people and goods,

or provision of security for the people and the

commodity.

“There is also freight forwarding and processing

when it comes to importing goods & services as

well as exporting to other countries.

“We cannot develop skills adequately in these

areas at the national level, but we can do so

through targeted centres of excellence in the

partner states.

Explaining how the initiatives for Regional Local

Content Policy can work in the sub-region, she said

that regional bodies can be included on the Regional

Local Content Policy on oil and gas, citing the

coming together of the East African communities

with COMESA on projects to develop an e-Passport

for East Africa and other projects, as examples.

Kyeyune further noted that regional bodies will play

a supporting and coordinating role and can be

instrumental in promoting regional integration in oil

and gas exploitation and building regional

infrastructures such as oil and gas pipelines for

sustainable exploitation of oil and gas including

Joint Ventures and farm-in arrangements in existing

and new licenses; promoting regional economies of

scale in the sector, focusing especially on midstream

and downstream industries (refineries); promoting

regional sharing of experiences and intra-regional

trade in the oil and gas sector and petrochemical

especially gas conversion and use of refinery

feedstock; and establishment of regional

mechanisms for sharing experiences on oil and gas

issues, especially those related to contract

negotiations and technology transfer.

She, however, admonished that setting a

benchmark is important to assess the effectiveness

of the arrangements over time, to ascertain where

and what types of improvements are needed.

Kyeyune said, “A regional Local Content Policy does

not necessarily mean an abandonment of any

consideration of national and community content.

Rather, these could all be part of an integrated

approach to the Regional Local Content Policy.

“The prosperity of the East Africa region will depend

on continued regional integration as a tool for

sustainable economic growth. Local Content must

be viewed as part of a broader industrial strategy.

“Innovation, R&D, upskilling, capabilities and

technological transfer not to be underestimated.

“Local Content Policy should be well-targeted,

flexible and adaptive and need to assume politically

difficult trade-offs.

“Collaborative partnerships are paramount.

Business is conducted by the Private Sector and

their buy-in and support are vital to have

sustainable results.

“Through Regional Local Content, East Africa can

become the world's next major economic success

story.”

She added that the principles of regional Local

Content Policy must be based on the key principles

of relevance, accessibility and equity.

35


LOCAL CONTENT

TotalEnergies Awards Contract

Worth $600 million in Uganda

and societal engagements. The Company

adheres to the highest national and

international standards including the World

Bank – International Finance Corporation

standards as well as the UN Guiding

Principles on Business and Human Rights.

TotalEnergies has been present in Uganda

since 1955 through its marketing operations

and has 200 stations countrywide. Total

E&P Uganda is an upstream affiliate that is

leading the development activities towards

production in the Tilenga project area –

Exploration Area 1 (EA-1) and Exploration

Area 2 North (EA-2N) within the Albertine

Region.

TotalEnergies, through local

subsidiary Total E&P Uganda,

has awarded five drilling

packages reportedly worth almost

$600 million for its Tilenga project

located in Nwoya and Buliisa Districts,

as part of its commitment to promoting

National content through employing

Ugandans, use of Ugandan goods,

services and technology transfer.

The news was announced by Total E&P

Uganda on Monday 14th June 2021

and contract values were published on

Tuesday by Upstream Online.

O i l f i e l d t e c h n o l o g i e s g i a n t

Schlumberger won three well

engineering packages, which Upstream

reported to be worth almost USD 350

million. The packages cover wellheads

a n d C h r i s t m a s t r e e s , u p p e r

completions, artificial lift, directional

drilling, well logging, MWD and other

services.

Sinopec subsidiary ZPEB Uganda Co.

has won a contract reportedly valued at

USD 210 million for the provision of

onshore drilling rigs and tubular running

and fishing services.

A third player, France’s Vallourec Oil &

Gas, was awarded a contract for casing,

tubing and other services valued at

around USD 120 million, according to

Upstream.

Mr Pierre Jessua, General Manager, Total

E & P U g a n d a s a i d : “ F o l l o w i n g a

comprehensive, competitive and thorough

tender evaluation and contracting process

that began with the phased submission of

Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED)

proposals to ensure project optimization,

we are pleased to sign these conditional

letters of award for the Tilenga project to

these 5 highly qualified industry players.

The launch of these contracts underscores

our commitment to developing the Tilenga

project while maximising the value and

viability of the project and observing the

most stringent Health, Safety, Social,

Environment and Quality standards to

which the contractor must adhere.

“Thanks to this first step, the Tilenga project

development phase has a target to achieve

first oil in 43 months. All the companies will

deploy their years of expertise and best-inclass

technology to delivering the project

while also ensuring sustainable value

retention in the economy through

promotion of national content.”

S t a k e h o l d e r e n g a g e m e n t s h a v e

commenced with all stakeholders including

the District and local leaders as well as

surrounding communities.

Total E&P Uganda is committed to

undertaking its activities in an exemplary

and transparent manner in terms of

environment, health, safety

The Lake Albert region in Uganda has major

oil and gas resources, estimated at over one

billion barrels. Uganda wanted to develop

them under the projects Tilenga, operated

by TotalEnergies, and Kingfisher by

CNOOC.* Production will be delivered to

the Tanzanian port of Tanga by a crossborder

pipeline, built and operated by the

EACOP company (East African Crude Oil

Pipeline).

The Tilenga and EACOP projects are

situated in a sensitive social and

environmental context and require land

acquisition programs with close attention to

the rights of the affected communities.

Environmental and social impact

assessments (ESIAs) have been carried out

in compliance with the exacting standards of

the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Third-party reviews have also been

conducted to ensure that the projects are

compliant with the best social and

environmental practices.

For these two projects, and in line with its

biodiversity commitments, TotalEnergies

will also implement action plans that

generate a positive net impact on

biodiversity. These plans will be defined in

close collaboration with the authorities and

stakeholders responsible for nature

conservation in Uganda and Tanzania.

TotalEnergies will contribute to a 50%

increase in the number of Murchison Falls

park rangers and will support a program,

conducted in partnership with the UWA

(Uganda Wildlife Authority), to reintroduce

the black rhinoceros in Uganda.

TotalEnergies is also working closely with

IUCN (International Union for Conservation

of Nature) experts to integrate the best

practices for the protection of chimpanzees,

particularly by promoting the conservation

of forest habitats.

36


Sangster Advocates for Sustainability of Nigerian Content

Mr Mike Sangster, the Managing

Director of Total E&P Nigeria Ltd, a

subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has

called for the sustenance of Nigerian local

content to grow the oil and gas sector in

the country.

Sangster made the call at the Chief

Executive Officers roundtable at the 4th

edition of the Nigeria International

Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja.

The theme of the conference is: “From

Crisis to opportunities: New approach to

future of hydrocarbons’’.

Sangster, who spoke on the impact of local

content policy on International Oil

Companies (IOCs) operating in the country,

said that the NOGICD Act had helped them

to make more impact in the country.

He said that the Nigerian oil industry

became proactive with the introduction of

the Local Content Act, adding with it

should be sustained as efforts were being

made to transit to cleaner energy.

“The industry has been proactive with the

local content act; the act aided the

establishment of indigenous companies

Mike Sangster, Managing Director

Total E&P Nigeria Ltd

LOCAL CONTENT

“The Egina project is a good product of local content

and we are very proud of it because 70 per cent of

the fabrication were done in-country and they are

quality and the facility is working well,” he said.

Sangster urged the government to invest a good

percentage of its revenue to support local content

to boost the economy to drive regional

development.

Evy Maffini

“We strongly believe that sustainability of the local

content will help keep young people busy,” he said.

The Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr

Osagie Okunbor, speaking on “Harnessing the

reserve: Gearing up infrastructure to boost natural

gas production’’, said that Nigeria was not short of

gas reserve.

“Yes we want to grow our reserve but the challenge

is producing the reserve for the benefit of the

country,” he said.

He said that there was a need for enabling

environment and infrastructure development, the

sanctity of contracts and collaboration among

stakeholders.

Dangote Partners German Government on Skill Development in Nigeria

The Aliko Dangote Foundation in

partnership with Germany’s VDMA (the

German Association for Mechanical and

Plant Engineering) and its Foundation for Young

Talent in Mechanical Engineering (NWS) have

officially launched a technical training program in

Nigeria, in a bid to significantly address the skill

deficit in all the key sectors of the nation’s economy.

Speaking at the official launching of the

programme, the president of Dangote Group, Aliko

Dangote said that the landmark program is a Sevenmillion

Euro investment, a large percentage of

which is for the specialized, leading-edge

equipment that has been shipped from Germany

and installed in five workshops purpose-built for

this program at Dangote Academy in Obajana. He

also said the beneficiaries will be trained, using

these machines, so they can learn practical skills

that will be transferable as they enter the work

force.

This program, according to him, is the first of its

kind in Nigeria, and will be replicated in all the six

geo-political zones of the country.

Noting that vocational and technical skills are vital

to the well-being of any economy, as key levers for

growth, specifically in the manufacturing sector,

Dangote said significant skills gaps exist in Nigeria,

which is what this program is seeking to address.

According to him: “The trainees that successfully

pass through the full vocational training will be

prepared as well-rounded professionals.

In addition to the technical training, they will also

get personal effectiveness trainings of same quality

as our staff”

Germany’s minister for economic cooperation and

development, Dr. Gerd muller, lauded the Aliko

Dangote Foundation and VDMA for the enviable

program that can transform and develop the

economy of Nigeria. He said his ministry has

supported the initiative with €3.6 million and will

not hesitate to do more for the purpose of the

initiatives to be achieved.

The VDMA past president, Dr Reinhold Fostge stated

that “I am very happy that this has become reality

eventually in Nigeria. We started six years ago. Four

years ago, we signed a memorandum of

understanding to establish a Nigerian German

training project. This program is to raise the skill

l evel o f worke rs a n d m a ke t h e yo u t h

employable…our vision in VDMA is that, in future,

we should be able to exchange highly skilled

professionals between Nigeria and Germany and as

a matter of fact, I have no objection to inviting

Nigerian specialists to help me in Germany and vice

versa”

Meanwhile the Governor of Lagos State, Mr.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, enjoined both the Aliko

Dangote Foundation and VDMA to consider citing

the second training workshop in Lagos, with a

promise to make funds available for the take-off this

laudable programme.

He said: I am truly excited to be part of this epoch

and nation changing event…for us in Lagos, I am

happy to announce that we have six well maintained

vocational training schools… but we are going to not

just talk here today, we are going to be making a

public commitment that given what I have listened

to now, we are not going to leave this to Dangote

Foundation alone, we have to upscale our

commitment.

“We won’t wait for him to replicate this in the sixgeographical

zones of the country. Lagos State will

work with him and ask the VDMA what level of

commitment is required from the state

government…to ensure that in no distance future,

we can replicate and bring a full arm of the Dangote

academy to Lagos State…we do not want

government bureaucracy to stall this, if it is to raise

finance that is required, I can assure you that Lagos

state is ready to that and why are we making this

commitment?

“It is because of where we see Lagos… the amount of

the teeming youth that we have in our country and

our state. Lagos has continued to be the biggest

economy in our country and even in Africa, and what

this present to us is an opportunity to bridge that

will help to significantly reduce the unemployment

level in the state”

Congratulating the trainees, Dangote said: “I understand

that we chose only 120 of you out of over 4,000

applicants. This means you are smart, you are the best

and the brightest, we believe in you, and expect great

things from you. I urge you to make use of this wonderful

opportunity and become productive for the well-being of

our country.”

37


NIGERIA OIL AND GAS

Chief Sylva Calls on Oil and Gas Industry Leaders

to Embrace the Culture of Collaboration

The Minister of State for Petroleum

Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has

called on the leaders in Nigeria's oil and

gas industry to embrace the culture of

collaboration.

Sylva said this in his welcome address at the

opening ceremony of the just concluded 2021

Nigeria International Petroleum Summit

(NIPS), which held in Abuja, with the theme,

“From Crisis to Opportunity: New approaches

to the future of hydrocarbons.”

The Minister who expressed joy that the 2021

NIPS came on the eve of the award of a new

marginal field licence, said that the new

marginal fields will help the country to achieve

its target of four million barrels per day crude

oil production, and increase its reserves to 40

billion barrels.

"I am personally delighted this is because

getting this new set of marginal fields off the

ground is definitely a stepping towards

achieving the country’s aspiration meeting the

target of four million barrels per day crude oil

production and 40 billion barrels of proven

reserves. I have no doubt that the country is

now on the right path to achieve that aim," he

said.

He said that with the issuance of licences to

about 80 indigenous exploration and

production companies, there is no better time

to embrace collaboration than now, adding

that the unprecedented crisis caused by the

Covid-19 pandemic has made collaboration

key to achieve success, especially for the new

marginal fields.

The Minister, however, acknowledged that

increased competition and low level of trusts

put a stumbling block to collaboration, but

noted that there is no better way to deal with

the increased risks and global market

instability the industry is facing at this time

than through collaboration.

He said, "I know that collaboration has been a

buzzword in the oil and gas industry for years

but the industry has equally paid lip service to

it. With the new set of marginal field licenses

on the scene, there is no better time to shift the

mindset but now. I say this because, at this time

of unprecedented crisis occasioned by the

COVID-19 pandemic, there is no better strategy

to achieve success for these new marginal

fields especially for the cluster of contagious

fields.

"I understand that increased competition, low

levels of trusts are all barriers to collaboration

but at the same time, there is no better way to

deal with the increased risks and global market

instability we face at this time. The industry

needs to overcome the strategy of working in

silos and embrace collaboration and knowledge

sharing."

According to the Minister, "We need to fully

entrench that culture of collaboration by

working together, sharing knowledge and

expertise, pooling talent and resources

amongst teams, industry peers and MDAs at all

levels. That is a sure way the industry can

decrease waste, improve efficiency and lower

its breakeven costs for the industry’s survival

and chart its eventual return to sustainable

profitability."

The oil and gas industry has been facing

increasing oil price volatility and increased

pressure for cost reduction. He said that

Nigeria's oil and gas industry needs to reinvent

itself so that it can fully utilize the dividends to

set the country on the path to industrialization

and prosperity.

According to him, Nigeria has been playing

prominent roles to ensure the stability of the oil

market, saying "In this regard, it is worth noting

that Nigeria would be celebrating 50 years of

membership of OPEC in July this year, having

joined the organisation in 1971.

These five decades of relationship with the

OPEC has been beneficial to the country as well

as to all stakeholders in the oil industry and it is a

thing of pride that Nigeria has been able to

contribute its quota to the sustenance and

survival of the oil industry."

Sylva further stated that when the NIPS was

conceived in 2016 by President Muhammadu

Buhari's administration, the objective was to be

the pre-eminent oil and gas industry event by

Nigeria for Africa and the global oil and gas

industry, adding that with three editions down

the line and now the fourth one, NIPS has

attained its objective.

On energy transition, he argued that though he

believes in experts projections that energy

transition without fossil fuels will make the

world a better place, it is not going to happen

overnight, as he is yet to see disruptive

technology that has flexibility, affordability and

applicability to replace oil and gas immediately.

He said, "Hydrocarbons are provided to the

majority of the world energy for centuries and

that fact is why it is not going to change all of a

sudden. I am yet to see that disruptive

technology that has great flexibility,

affordability and applicability to replace oil and

gas immediately. However, Nigeria is on track in

moving its economy to cleaner energy

resources in the area of renewables. Gas

currently serving as the niche to achieving

that."

He thanked Buhari for his leadership,

steadfastness and unalloyed support towards

ensuring that the country’s oil and gas industry

is on sound footing. He also appreciated the

Brevity Anderson Consortium, the event

organisers, for their professionalism, diligence

and mark excellence in putting together the

event.

39


NIGERIA OIL AND GAS

Nigeria’s Gas Reserves Hit 206.53 Trillion Standard Cubic Feet

Proven gas deposits in Nigeria has

moved 206.53 trillion cubic feet,

the Department of Petroleum

Resources (DPR) said yesterday in Abuja.

Speaking at the Nigeria International

Petroleum Summit, Director of DPR,

Auwalu Sarki disclosed that indigenous oil

and gas companies are now contributing as

much as 33 per cent to the nation’s crude

oil reserves and about 30 per cent of gas

reserves.

While the companies contribution to the

reserves was less than 10 million barrels in

2005, it has grown significantly to about 62

million barrels in 2020.

Speaking on the gas reserves, Auwalu

attributed the growth to recent efforts

being made on gas exploration in the

country, especially the “Decade of Gas

Initiative’.

The Nigerian government had last year put

Nigeria’s total gas reserves at 203.16

trillion cubic feet (TCF), representing a

marginal increase of 1.16tcf or 0.57 per

cent from the 202tcf recorded in 2019. The

recent increase implies a growth of over 3

trillion.

“Nigeria attained the target of 200tcf of

natural gas reserves by the Reserve

Declaration as at Jan.1, 2019, before the

2020 target

“Thereafter, government set a target to

attain a Reserve Position of 2020tcf by

2030,” Auwalu said.

He noted that independent companies are

driving value addition to gas, adding that

acquisition of divested assets as well as

accelerated appraisal and development efforts

are other driving factors.

To him, the country is already gaining from the

deliberate national efforts to boost indigenous

participation in the sector.

The Chairman of Nigeria Gas Association and

Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Gas, Ed Ubong,

who spoke at the event said gas only accounts

for 5 per cent of Africa energy mix.

“Nigeria is sitting on a large, huge resource base

of gas, but how much gas are we producing? We

are a top ten country when we talk of what we

have but when you talk of what we are actually

producing we begin to sit back, we are in the top

20 range.

“The gas development in Nigeria has a number of

positives, over the last 30 years, we have doubled

our domestic gas consumption and moved from

about 200 and today in the domestic market we

have close to 1.2pcf of gas flowing every day, he

stated.

Earlier at the event, the Minister of State for

Petroleum, Timipre Sylva had said there was need

for the industry to move beyond ‘lips service’ on gas

development.

“I want to see a holistic roadmap and action plan that

provides the appropriate leverage for the way forward

in delivering the Decade of Gas vision.

The critical milestone that must be achieved should be

clearly stated with short, medium and long term

strategies”, the Minister said at the end of the four day

event.

NNPC Outlines Opportunities in Nigeria’s Oil, Gas Industry

T

He called on potential investors to explore these

opportunities and synergies with the nation’s oil &

gas industry towards a post-pandemic recovery.

he Nigerian National Corporation (NNPC)

has outlined some of the key areas of

investment opportunities in Nigeria’s oil,

gas, and other key sectors of the economy.

The Group Managing Director, Nigeria National

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari

revealed this during his goodwill message at the

virtual 2021 Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair

(NOGOF).

Kyari commended the Management and leadership

of the NCDMB for its noble and conscious effort at

projecting industry opportunities to stakeholders

and potential investors.

He explained that despite the negative impact of

the COVID-19 pandemic in the global economy, the

Nigerian oil and gas industry is replete with

opportunities from the upstream, midstream,

downstream and services sectors.

He said, “In the Upstream, opportunities abound in

the area of exploration of frontier basins, the

development of upstream gas fields and the

financing of greenfield/brownfield additional

production on de-risked assets.

“In Gas & Power infrastructure development, there

are opportunities in expanding our Gas Pipeline

networks, development of Gas based industries as

well as the Integrated Power Plants.

“In line with our aspiration towards becoming a net

exporter of petroleum products, opportunities

abound in the rehabilitation of our existing

refineries as well as the construction of greenfield

condensate refineries.

“There are more opportunities in the downstream

sector especially in LPG and CNG plants across the

country. There are also opportunities in the pipeline

and storage tank construction; as well as developing

Shipping Capacity.

“In the Ventures & Business Development, we are

ready to partner investors in the development of

multi-specialist hospitals to strengthen healthcare

service availability and support telecommunication

infrastructure availability.

“We are ready to collaborate with investors towards

turning opportunities into real value, for the benefit

of all, and especially towards taking our industry to

greater heights.

“I am optimistic that this conference will further

foster institutional collaborations, maximise the

participation of Nigerians in oil and gas activities,

link the oil and gas sector to other sectors of the

economy, and maximise utilisation of Nigerian

resources for the benefit of Nigerians and other

stakeholders,” Kyari added.

40 21

OIL OIL AND AND GAS GAS REPUBLIC I I SPECIAL EDITION

NIGERIA OIL AND GAS

Indigenous Firms Contribute 30% to Nigeria’s Gas

Reserves, 33% to Crude Oil Reserves – DPR

ollowing the establishment of the

National Oil and Gas Excellence

Centre (NOGEC) by President

Muhammadu Buhari early this year, the


has reiterated its commitment to position

the NOGEC to become Africa’s energy hub.

The NOGEC, located at the Lagos Annex of

the Department of Petroleum Resources,

would enhance safety, value and cost

efficiency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector as

well as strengthening the country’s

position as a regional leader in the oil and

gas industry.

In his keynote address at the 5th edition of


Petroleum Exhibition and Conference,

SAIPEC, Engr. Sarki Auwalu, Director and

CEO of DPR, said that the NOGEC serves as

a one-stop shop to drive safety, cost

efficiency, and value for the Nigerian oil

and gas industry.

He further explained that NOGEC will serve

as the oil and gas industry cost reduction

centre and hub for industry best practices,

technical support, and competence.

“NOGEP will also act as the oil and gas

industry techno-economic bureau to

support government and its entities on

policy development and implementation.

“The centre has an integrated resource

complex which is situated in Lagos. It

Engr. Sarki Auwalu, Director and CEO of DPR

“These five integrated centres includes search,

rescue and surveillance command and control

centre, national improve oil recovery centre,

alternative dispute resolution centre,

competence development centre and

integrated manning and analytic centre.

“These centres are available to the industry for

shared knowledge, experience and know-how

to collaborate, and provide solutions to

pressing industry issues for the overall

development of the industry and vehicle for

regional integration in the oil and gas industry.

“NOGEC is also structured to host oil and gas

the value chain. It will give investors’ confidence,

funders, financials, and participants a very

transparent platform for participation.

“Also, the centre will house the secretariat of the

African oil and gas regulators forum as a further

step to entrench continental collaboration and

developments in the face of global dynamics and

pressure on fossil fuels.

“The oil and gas Africa’s regulator’s forum which

DPR is working to establish is in line with the Africa

free trade and we will be leveraging on the NOGEC

to energise Africa as one of the energy hubs for the

future.

While making his remarks about the event, Auwalu

noted that the SAIPEC has emerged as an important

platform for discussing regional issues, adding that

the 5th edition of the SAIPEC is “both historic and

monumental”.

He called on Africa to rise and tell its stories, noting

that “only Africa can grow Africa.”

DPR has the statutory responsibility of ensuring

compliance to petroleum laws, regulations and

guidelines in the Oil and Gas Industry. The discharge

of these responsibilities involves monitoring of

operations at drilling sites, producing wells,

production platforms and flowstations, crude oil

export terminals, refineries, storage depots, pump

stations, retail outlets, any other locations where

petroleum is either stored or sold, and all pipelines

carrying crude oil, natural gas and petroleum

products, while carrying out the following

functions, among others.

SHELL NIGERIA COUNTRY CHAIR BAGS PETROLEUM VARSITY FELLOWSHIP

Managing Director of The Shell Petroleum

Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC),

Mr. Osagie Okunbor, has emerged winner

of the 2021 Award for Excellence and Integrity in

Corporate Leadership of the Federal University of

Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun in Delta

State.

‘The university recognises your industry leadership

and observed personal qualities, values and

approach to leadership which is a source of

inspiration to so many others,” said the Vice

Chancellor of FUPRE, Prof. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh,

while presenting the award at the university on

Thursday.

The award, recommended by the university award

board, automatically confers on Okunbor the

fellowship of the foremost petroleum university in

sub-Saharan Africa and puts him in line for first

choice of consideration for the honorary doctorate

of the university at subsequent convocations.

Prof. Rim-Rukeh expressed his appreciation to Shell

companies in Nigeria for the ongoing ICT Centre

project in the university sponsored by Shell’s deepwater

company, Shell Nigeria Exploration and

Production Company (SNEPCo). “One impressive

feature of the project is the sustained tempo of work

without any break since construction started.”

Also speaking at the event, Country Director, African

Child Foundation International, Amb. Donaldson

Onosakponene, described Okunbor as model

whose accomplishments and hard work should be a

standard for younger generation of Nigerians.

Onosakponene said, “With your kind, the next

generation has hope of a better society built on

integrity, hard work and patriotism. We identify

with your accomplishments at setting a new agenda

for a prosperous Nigeria and Africa.”

Okunbor thanked the university leadership for

considering him worthy of a fellowship and the

award which he dedicated to the Shell family in

Nigeria.

“I have had the privilege of working with some of the

best professionals in the oil and gas industry in the

world here in Nigeria with the majority of them

being Nigerians. Whatever success I record as the

country chair of Shell companies in Nigeria is not

without them, and, of course, my family. I also

recognise the tremendous support of our host

communities and partners in making Shell an

industry leader,” said Okunbor.

He promised Shell Nigeria’s continued support for

education in Nigeria through scholarships and

provision of infrastructure to develop local capacity

to run the Nigerian economy.

41


NIGERIA OIL AND GAS

NLNG Signs SPAs for Domestic LNG Supply in Nigeria

in 2007 when it started supplying Liquified

Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the country. He said the

Company was looking to expanding the LPG

value chain by increasing to 450,000 tons its

supply to the domestic market , guaranteeing

LPG supply, availability, affordability, and

enabling the development of a value network

for a sustainable ecosystem.

In another development, NLNG has supplied

about 370,000 metric tonnes (MT) about 40

percent of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the

domestic market in 2020.

According to the company, NLNG was meeting

about 40 percent of the demand for the

domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market

with the supply of about 370,000 metric tonnes

(MT) of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the

domestic market in 2020.

Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has

signed 10-year LNG Sales and

Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with

three offtakers for the domestic supply of

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in country.

The Company will supply 1.1 Million Tons

Per Annum (MTPA) of LNG on DES basis to

Asiko Power Limited, Bridport Energy

Limited and Gas-Plus Synergy Limited. The

SPAs will facilitate the project execution

and infrastructural development by

offtakers to aid LNG delivery into the

domestic market.

The announcement is coming close on the

heels of an NLNG-sponsored pre-summit

conference of the 2021 Nigeria

International Petroleum Summit (NIPS)

organised by the Federal Ministry of

Petroleum Resources where the Company

committed to supporting the deepening of

the gas industry and gas utilisation in the

country.

The execution of the SPAs follows a

Domestic LNG (DLNG) Workshop which

was held in November 2019 to stress test

the delivery model with industry

stakeholders and series of engagements to

identify suitable actors to co-create the

initiative, andto stimulate market interest

for potential offtakers.

Speaking on the Company’s initiative, Engr.

Tony Attah, Managing Director and Chief

Executive Officer of NLNG, said the signing

and execution of the DLNG SPAs was a

strong expression of the Company’s

commitment to unlocking the country’s

gas potential and making gas count for the good

of Nigerians. He added that NLNG was already

transforming conversations held at the Decade

of Gas event held in March 2021 into concrete

actions that Nigerians can easily relate with.

“With Nigeria’s enormous gas reserves, I am not

in doubt that with the right drive from the

government and the support of corporate

organizations, we as a nation can stand with our

head held high to be counted among major

players. The government has demonstrated its

readiness to take the gas sector to the next level

by declaring this decade our nation’s Decade of

Gas.

“We believe this will be the decade for us to

leverage on our gas reserves to accelerate our

power generation solutions through Gas-to-

Power projects. It will be the decade when as a

nation we stop reporting deaths from pollution

through the use of wood and solid fuels as

domestic energy sources. And it will be the

decade for empowering local SMEs to take

advantage of the various investment

opportunities that the Decade of Gas will

attract.

“In addition to the Domestic LNG Scheme, we

have the ongoing Train 7 project with capacity

to attract about $10bn in foreign direct

investment. We are also looking to expand the

LPG value chain by increasing our supply to the

domestic market, guaranteeing LPG supply and

enhancing its affordability, and enabling the

development of a value network for a

sustainable ecosystem,” he said.

Engr. Attah added that NLNG took similar steps

This is as NLNG pointed out that the

consumption of the domestic LPG market was

over 1 million metric tonnes in 2020.

Attah said that the NLNG was also increasing its

supply to the domestic market from 350,000MT

annually to 450,000MT to meet the growing

consumer demand.

Attah, in his speech, said that gas has a pivotal

role to play in Nigeria’s socio-economic

development as the world moves toward

energy transition and renewables.

The NLNG boss explained that Nigeria needs to

take full advantage of its resources for national

development with 203TCF of proven gas

reserves, adding that this was one of the

mandates of the NLNG.

He revealed that Nigeria was now currently

ranked 7th in the world in gas flaring compared

to the 2nd that it was 15 years ago, noting that

the country would continue to work toward

reducing its carbon emissions.

Attah said, “Cleaner energy is a big deal to us at

NLNG. More than 100,000 people die annually

as a result of inhalation of exhaustive waste and

they are mostly women and children. So, we

want to support the government to bring

cleaner energy to Nigerians.”

NLNG is an incorporated Joint-Venture owned

by four Shareholders, namely, the Federal

Government of Nigeria, represented by

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

(49%), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6%), Total Gaz

Electricite Holdings France (15%), and Eni

International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4%).

42


NIGERIA OIL AND GAS

President Buhari Flags Off Construction of NLNG’s

Train 7 Project

The President of the Federal Republic of

Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, today

flagged off the construction of Nigeria LNG

Limited’s (NLNG) Train 7 project during the

groundbreaking ceremony at the Company’s plant

site on Bonny Island, Rivers State.

The project is expected to increase NLNG’s current

six-train plant capacity by about 35% from an extant

22 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) to 30 MTPA.

The foundation stone was laid on behalf of President

Buhari, who flagged the project virtually, by the

Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum

Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, supported by the

Executive Governor of Rivers State, Barr. Nyesom

Wike CON, represented by Deputy Governor, Dr.

(Mrs.) Ipalibo Harry Banigo; the Amanyanabo of

Grand Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Edward

Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, Perekule XI; Group

Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari; the Chairman,

NLNG Board of Directors, His Majesty Dr. Edmund

Daukoru, NLNG’s Managing Director/CEO, Engr.

Tony Attah; and NLNG’s Deputy Managing Director,

Engr. Sadeeq Mai-Bornu, amongst others.

Other dignitaries who graced the event are the

Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content

Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr.

Simbi Wabote; NLNG Board directors NNPC Board

directors; distinguished senators, members of the

Company’s Senior Management Team and other

special guests.

In his address, President Buhari said the

groundbreaking was an important milestone in the

history of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, adding that

“the story of Nigeria LNG is one that I have been so

passionately associated with during the formative

years of the NLNG project. It has transformed from a

project over the years to a very successful company.

“This groundbreaking ceremony to herald the Train

7 project construction has afforded me the

opportunity to congratulate NLNG and its

Company’s shareholders – NNPC, Shell, Total, and

Eni – for proving that a Nigerian company can

operate a world-class business safely, profitably, and

responsibly. Clearly, you have set the stage upon

which Nigeria’s vast gas resources will continue to

grow well into the future.”

“I am proud that NLNG, as the pioneer LNG company

in Nigeria, has conscientiously proven the viability of

the gas sector over the years, currently contributing

about one percent to our country’s GDP. NLNG has

generated $114 billion in revenues over the years,

paid $9 billion in taxes; $18 billion in dividends to the

Federal Government and $15 billion in feed gas

p u r c h a s e . T h e s e a r e c o m m e n d a b l e

accomplishments by the company’s 100 percent

Nigerian Management Team.

“With this level of performance, I can only hope that

the company continues to grow, starting with this

Train 7 project, but also positioning Nigeria to

thrive through the energy transition. I

hereby urge the Board of Directors,

Management and Staff of Nigeria LNG, the

Host Communities, the Rivers State

Government and Agencies of the Federal

Government to continue to collaborate to

e n s u r e c o m p l e t i o n a n d e v e n t u a l

commissioning of the Train 7 project safely

and on time, so that Train 8 can then start,’ he

said.

Executive Governor of Rivers State, Barrister

Nyesom Wike, represented by Dr. Banigo,

applauded the shareholders, NLNG’s Board

o f D i re c tors , a n d t h e C o m p a ny ’s

management for keeping the Train 7 dream

alive. He said the State Government

considered the project as a key economic

enabler and committed to supporting both

the project and the Company.

The Minister of State for Petroleum

Resources, Chief Sylva, stated that Train 7

would contribute to maintaining the

country’s status as a gas exporting nation.

He said, “Nigeria has more gas reserves than

crude oil, and we have much to gain from

sustaining our LNG exports to a market that

has a growing demand for the commodity as

the preferred fuel for industrialization and

power generation.”

In his welcome remarks, the Group Managing

Director of NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari,

commended the Federal Government for

supporting the project and called for

stakeholders’ support for the project. He

added that support for NLNG will lead to

immense benefits to Nigerians.

Chief Timipre Sylva

Engr. Tony Attah, in his welcome remarks, said the

benefits of gas to the country will increase on the

back of this Train 7 Project.

He added that Train 7 will stimulate the inflow of

more than $10billion Foreign Direct Investment

into Nigeria as part of the project scope; create

more than12,000 direct jobs and additional

40,000 indirect construction jobs; and develop

Nigerian local capacity and businesses.

He also stated that the increase in volume supply

to the global market as a result of Train 7 will keep

NLNG and the country on top of the suppliers’

chart as world LNG demand grows.

The Company took the Final Investment Decision

(FID) for the project in December 2019. It

proceeded to sign the Engineering, Procurement,

and Construction (EPC) Contracts with the SCD JV

Consortium, comprising affiliates of Saipem,

Chiyoda, and Daewoo, on May 13 2020.

Train 7 Project is in fulfilment of NLNG’s vision of

“being a global Company, helping to build a better

Nigeria.” The project, upon completion, will

support the Federal Government’s drive to

generate more revenue from Nigeria’s proven gas

reserves and further reduce gas flaring in the

country’s upstream oil and gas industry.

The project is scheduled to span approximately

five years.

NLNG is an incorporated Joint-Venture owned by

four Shareholders, namely, the Federal

Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian

National Petroleum Corporation (49%), Shell Gas

B.V. (25.6%), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France

(15%), and Eni International N.A. N.V. S.àr.l

(10.4%).

43


NIGERIA AND GAS

UTM Offshore Signs Pre-FEED Contract for Nigeria’s First

Floating LNG Project

companies have built the necessary capabilities

to execute such ambitious projects and we

intend to open up a whole new segment of the

industry that brings positive environmental

benefits to the country while continuing to

build local capacities across the value-chain,”

s a i d J u l i u s Ro n e , G ro u p M a n a g i n g

Director/CEO, UTM Group.

The company has a clear vision to be the first

African player to execute an FLNG project in

Africa, but also to contribute to the

decarbonisation of the industry by monetising

gas that would be otherwise burnt during

production operations.

UTM Offshore Limited, a Nigerian

marine services company, has

signed this morning a pre-Front

End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED)

contract with JGC Corporation of Japan for

the development of a floating liquefied

natural gas (LNG) project offshore Nigeria.

Another contract was also sighed with KBR,

who is now the project’s Owners Engineer

and will be executing a third-party review

of the Pre-FEED study.

The signing of both contracts follows the

issuance of a License-to-Establish (LTE) for

the same project to UTM Offshore in

Fe b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 b y t h e N i gerian

Department of Petroleum Resources

(DPR). As the project progresses, the

company will be applying for a License to

Construct and finally a License to Operate.

With natural gas reserves estimated at

about 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), Nigeria

holds the eighth largest discovered gas

reserves in the world. However, they

remain largely undeveloped and wasted. In

2020, the country produced an average of

7,800 MMscfd of gas, out of which over

35% remained non-commercialised. Also

last year, an average of 540 MMscfd of

produced natural gas was flared on site,

contributing to heavy carbon emissions.

UTM Offshore has conceived the

installation of the country’s first FLNG unit

in order to monetise gas and cut flaring.

Both contracts signed earlier today will be

further advancing the project towards final

investment decision (FID).

The FLNG unit will be deployed on Oil Mining

Lease (OML 104), operated by the joint-venture

of Mobil Producing Nigeria (40%, operator) and

the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation (NNPC, 60%). ExxonMobil started

development activities on the block back in

2002 and achieved first oil from Yoho in

December of the same year. A term-sheet is

currently being discussed between ExxonMobil

and UTM Offshore to prepare for the

deployment of the FLNG unit on the block.

Equally important, UTM Offshore intends to

target OML 104’s associated gas, or the gas

produced alongside with crude oil that tends to

be flared for lack of monetisation or export

infrastructure.

“UTM Offshore’s FLNG project is the most

logical continuation for our group as Nigeria

embarks on a new era of gas monetisation and

local content development. Nigerian

The FLNG is targeting a capacity of 1.2 million

tonnes per year (tpy). Upon its expected

commissioning in 2025, the UTM Offshore FLNG

unit would be sub-Saharan Africa’s fourth such

liquefaction facility set up offshore Africa after

Cameroon (Hilli Episeyo), Mozambique (Coral

Sul) and Senegal/Mauritania (Gimi).

UTM Offshore Limited (UTMOL), is a wholly

Nigerian owned company, was established

essentially for the Direct Sales and Direct

Purchase (DSDP) of the Nigerian Crude Oil –

crude for products exchange (swap); the

provision of premium marine security, support

and logistics services which includes but

without limitation to the sales and supply; short

and long term leasing of sea going vessels,

service boats and allied equipment such as, the

large and medium size Platform Supply Vessels

(PSVs), Security Vessels, Anchor Handling Tug

(AHTs), Fast Service Intervention Vessels

(FSIVs), Crew/Supply Boats, Dive Support

Vessels, Drill-Ship, Jack-Up Barges, Work

Vessels, Floating Production, Storage and

Offloading (FPSO) units, to support the offshore

and on-shore drilling campaigns of the Oil

Exploration and Production Companies

operating within and outside the Nigeria.

44


NIGERIA AND GAS

TALKING POINT

Nicolas Odinuwe

PETAN Chairman


‘Strategic Policies, Private-Public Sector Partnership to

Unlock the Potential of Nigeria’s Gas Reserves’

The Chairman of Petroleum

Technology Association of

Nigeria, PETAN, Mr Nicolas

Odinuwe has said that strategic

regulatory frameworks that creates an

enabling environment will encourage

private-public sector partnership to

unlocking the untapped potentials in

Nigeria’s gas reserves.

This statement comes in line with

PETAN’s readiness to host the 5th

edition of the Sub-Saharan Africa

International Petroleum Summit

(SAIPEC) scheduled to hold virtually on

19 – 21 May 2021, which will feature a

spotlight session on “Sub-Saharan

Africa’s gas industry, gas monetization

and the importance of LNG and gas to

power projects,” with an extensive

discussion on Nigeria Decade of Gas

initiative launched by President

Muhammadu Buhari.

To actualise the objectives of the

‘Decade of Gas’ transforming Nigeria

towards a gas-powered economy by

2030, Mr Odinuwe highlighted some

key recommendations that will pave the

way for a successful gas utilization as

well as unlocking the untapped

potentials in Nigeria’s gas reserves

which comprises of concepts such as

gas-to-people, gas-to-power and gasto-industry.

In his words, “On gas-to-people, for a

successful all-round transition from oil

to gas, Nigeria needs to Boost Investor

Confidence in the sector. We are all

aware of the bottlenecks such as an

insufficient regulatory framework in

the industry which stakeholders are

optimistic that the PIB when passed,

will address.

“We also need enhanced private-sector

participation which can be enhanced

through minimized taxes and royalties on oil

and gas by the government. Although

recovery policies are already in place and

show commitment to enabling potential in

the future, we are hoping that new ones will

create the enabling environment that will

encourage private-public partnerships

needed to drive home the gas expansion

initiative.

“The Investor-Exporter Foreign Exchange

window needs to be widened. Homegrown

innovations hold the key to unlocking our

untapped potential in gas as well as in

industries outside the oil sector, so we know

that we need to develop strategies to

reform and implement a market-based and

cost-effective gas distribution.

“On gas-to-power, we already have the

Nigeria Gas Transportation Network Code

(NGTNC) developed by the Ministry of

Petroleum Resources, developed to deepen

the growth of the domestic gas market and

support export projects.

“There is also the Nigerian Gas Flare

Commercialisation Program (NGFCP) to

improve gas-to-power, grow gas-based

industries, domestic Liquefied Natural

Gas (LNG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

penetration to unleash potentials of

accelerated growth and stimulate

investment opportunities and national

economic development.

“For ease of operating the NGFCP, the


established a Network Code Electronic

Licensing and Administration System

(NCELAS) portal to process all licenses

required for operating gas transport

arrangements and administration of all

regulatory roles required for the optimal

performance of the Network Code.

“On gas-to-industry, we have the Ministry

of Petroleum Resources, NNPC, NCDMB,

NLNG and private investors forging

collaborations to establish modular

refineries, rehabilitate existing ones,

activate CNG refill stations for integration

of LPG, LNG and CNG to be dispensed to

motorists in the country to promote gas as a

cleaner, cheaper and more environmentally

friendly replacement fuel to premium motor

spirit (PMS), kerosene and automotive gas

oil in the long run as well as conserve foreign

exchange expended on imported fuel.

“An area that excites us at PETAN, is the

adoption of LPG Cylinder Recirculation

Model (CRM) to increase LPG penetration.

Reason being that as predominantly

technical partners in the industry, the issue

of safety is a huge concern to us as it is for

the majority of Nigerians who are apathetic

toward this transition of adopting LPG as

domestic fuel.

“We, therefore, laud the exchange

system whereby marketers deliver and

retrieve cylinders for refurbishment and

maintenance to enhance safety and

availability at the least possible cost.

“PETAN is an active participant in the

Nigerian gas value chain where its

member companies have developed the

technical expertise in areas such as

AUTOGAS, and training engineers in the

skill of installing auto conversion kits in

existing vehicles to make them bio-fuel

compliant as well as setting up of microdistribution

centres and micro foundries

in the country under the domestic LPG

program.”

45


GUYANA SURINAME BASIN

Guyana Need to Modify the Country’s

Energy Sector, APPO Advise Govt.

Qaasim Shittu: Guyana Offers Many

Opportunities for African E&P and Service

Companies

47 47 50

TotalEnergies, Qatar Petroleum Receives

Two New Shallow Water Exploration

Licenses offshore Suriname

Goinvest’s CEO Outlines Key Business Opportunities

in Guyana Major Industries

Dr Peter Ramsaroop, Chief Investment

Officer & CEO of Goinvest, has outlined

k e y i n v e s t m e n t a r e a s a n d

opportunities in Guyana’s major industries.

This statement comes in-line following the

successful edition of Guyana Basins Summit

2021 held virtually this year.

Ramsaroop, in his speech, noted that Guyana is

one of the most exciting countries in the world

for investment opportunities due to the recent

development and continuous increase of its

GDP growth which stood at 43% in 2020,

demonstrating that Guyana is making headway

to having a stable economy.

He said that the Guyanese President has made

a strong commitment towards the country’s

2021 budget which holds a solid foundation

with a long-term approach for the next five

years.

“The future has arrived for Guyana. We aren’t

here to predict the future. What couldn’t have

happened in the past will happen now.”

According to him, Guyana is moving towards a

cross-sector approach as part of the

government efforts to aggressively develop the

country’s major industries – infrastructure,

construction, technology and ICT, among

others. Our infrastructure and construction

industry is booming.

He continued, “We will be upgrading our

airports. The border between Guyana and

Brasil, we will extend the runway to serve as a

regional airport.

“We have liberalised our telecommunication

industry and we are looking for large backups

to processing new carriers, call centres. We

have a lot of educated people in Guyana and

we are continuously investing billions of dollars

46

in our education system.

Dr Peter Ramsaroop, Chief Investment Officer & CEO of Goinvest

“We are working towards becoming a net

exporter of energy. We will be building a bridge

between Guyana and Suriname. There will be a

connection between both countries that will

boost investment opportunities.

“Our President has announced plans to

establish an oil and gas institute, build hotels of

about 2,000 rooms in the next five years.

“Guyana’s investment climate and tax regime

are well coordinated. We have incentivised our

tax system. Many import materials for our

construction industry has been reduced in

terms of VAT. For example, if you set up a

manufacturing plant, all your equipment will be

duty-free.

“At Goinvest, we facilitate your entrance into

Guyana. We have been mandated to assist

investors to come into Guyana.

“We will be hosting different investment forum

for every sector later this year. And we are

looking forward to welcoming you to Guyana.”

Goinvest serve as a primary contact for

investors and liaising with government agencies

throughout the investment process. It also

provides investors with a comprehensive

information of steps necessary to commence

business operations in Guyana and facilitate

throughout the process.

Goinvest develops profiles on investment

opportunities in Guyana, assist with obtaining

resources, factory space or land for investment

purposes. It also promote and assist with

coordination of joint venture efforts between

local and overseas interests.


GUYANA OIL AND GAS

Guyana Need to Modify the Country’s Energy Sector,

APPO Advise Govt.

“Coming late into the industry has some

advantages where they can as well learn from

the mistakes of others and thereby avoid

making such mistakes. There are many areas

Guyana should learn from other oil producers

for their own benefits. Among the key areas

include; legal and contractual framework,

regulatory framework, local content and

capacity building, among others.”

He advised, “Those in whose trust the wealth of

Guyana’s oil and gas industry is bestowed upon,

should learn from the act of commission and

omission of some African oil-producing

countries.

The Secretary-General of the African

Petroleum Producers Organisation

(APPO), Omar Farouk, has advised

the Guyanese government to modify and

learn from the mistakes of some African

oil-producing country’s to reposition the

country’s energy sector into the new

realities of the global energy transition.

In his keynote address at the Guyana Basin

Summit 2021 held virtually, Farouk said a

country like Guyana shouldn’t make the

same mistakes that these African oil

producers encountered in growing its

energy industry.

He stressed that Guyana needs to modify

its energy industry in a way of learning

from other oil producers and taking into

Omar Farouk

consideration the new realities of the global

energy transition agenda to end fossil fuels in

the next 30 years.

In his words, “Guyana is one of the world’s

latecomers in the group of oil-producing and

exporting countries. Not be the first or among

the first has its advantages which is the

opportunity to learn from the mistakes that

earlier players committed that made them fall

victims.

“But, entering the field late also has its

challenges. Following the global paradigm shift

in energy sourcing especially since the Paris

Climate Change Agreement popularly known as

COP21, world leaders have committed to

ending greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by the

year 2050 which is 30 years from now.

“Do not open the doors of your economy to

hostile importation of luxury items.

“Do not pander to the revolution of rising

expectations. If the people of Guyana have lived

without oil money all these years, this is a

sacrifice worth making for the future of the

country and its generation.

“Invest in what you can generate from your oil

more especially in education.

“Invest in technology, artificial intelligence and

all those things that will make Guyanese

economy sustainable even in the absence of

your oil wealth,” he concluded.

Qaasim Shittu: Guyana Offers Many Opportunities for African E&P and

Service Companies

Q

aasim Shittu, the Executive Director of

Mayson Blackhouse, has said that Guyana

offers many opportunities for African

exploration & production and service companies

throughout the entire value chain of the country’s

energy industry.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent,

Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme, at the sideline of the

Guyana Basin Summit 2021, Shittu disclosed that

there has been a lack of Oil & Gas experience in the

country, but, though there have been one

International Oil Company (IOC) producing and

drilling wells in Guyana Basin.

He continued, “Africa’s oil industry is much more

mature and it also has a lot more producers, more

onshore infrastructure, a much more developed

and robust oilfield supply chain, and a more

advanced fiscal, legislative, regulatory

infrastructure.

“But Guyana has the unique opportunity to learn

from best practices and mistakes of all the oilproducing

countries that preceded it and

significantly accelerate its development.

“The opportunities are many for companies who

have a proven track record of delivery in Africa;

capital and are keen to make a long-term

investment, and understand the importance of local

content development.

“There are direct opportunities across the entire oil

and gas and petroleum product value chain but

there are potentially even more indirect

opportunities that arise when the country starts to

exponentially increase their GDP and raise the

income level of their entire nation.

“The government will soon have the financial

capacity to take one mega-infrastructure projects to

improve the quality of life of its citizens. The

opportunities are as broad as one’s imagination and

experience.

“We have partnered with one of the world’s leading

Oil & Gas conference firms, Global Event Partners

(GEP), to jointly organize the Guyana Basin Summit.

The first edition was held on March 17-19 2021 as a

virtual event, followed by a live event on Oct 27-29

2021.

“With multiple recent discoveries in Suriname, on

the tail of 10 billion barrels discovered so far in

Guyana, there is tremendous excitement and

opportunity in the basin and the time is now to plant

seeds of long-term investment,” he added.

47 22

OIL AND OIL AND GAS GAS REPUBLIC REPUBLIC I SPECIAL I SPECIAL EDITION EDITION

S U R I N A M E O I L & G A S

Annand Jagesar

Acting Managing Director/CEO,

Staatsolie

‘Suriname is open for

business’

"Suriname has had 5 significant discoveries

in the past years. TotalEnergies and Apache

are already in appraisal phase with the

target to have first production in 2025,"

says Annand Jagesar

2020 was a year to remember for

Suriname with their first

o f f s h o r e d i s c o v e r y o f

hydrocarbons in offshore Block 58, held

in a JV between Apache and Total. A

game-changing opportunity for the

country’s economic recovery and

development. Suriname finished the

year on a positive note with the fourth

offshore discovery by Petronas in a JV

with ExxonMobil.

With an estimated resource potential of

13.6 billion barrels (P50), the United

States Geological Survey (USGS 2012)

ranks the Guiana Basin 2nd in the world

for prospectivity among the world's

unexplored basins and 12th for oil

among all the world's basins - explored

and unexplored.

In an interview with our correspondent,

Annand Jagesar, Acting Managing

Director/CEO of Staatsolie has said

that the Suriname Energy, Oil, Gas

industry is Open for Business, noting

that the country has had five significant

discoveries over the years.

According to him, the finds are huge,

and the exploration success rates are

unheard of. Total and Apache are

already in the appraisal phase with the

target to have the first production in

2025.

He said: "We have three areas of

possible interest. Firstly, we have been

producing crude oil from our onshore

(wetland) fields for around 40 years now.

"Secondly, we are busy in the shallow

offshore, where we just closed the bidding

round for the western part. This is also going

to generate activities from the PSCs that are

pending.

"And then lastly, our current crown jewels in

the deeper offshore. The operators are very

active and especially Total and Apache in

B l o c k 5 8 a r e e x e c u t i n g a 2 - r i g

exploration/appraisal program with a total

budget of around USD 800 million.

Suriname will be brimming with activities.

"Staatsolie has a professional relationship

with the IOCs operating in Suriname. We

have often been told by the contractor

parties that our professionalism, including

transparency, is a huge difference for them

compared to other developing countries.

"We will make sure that we present a

program which suits the interest of all

(potential) stakeholders interested to do

business in Suriname and as such contribute

to their expansion as well as the

development of Suriname's oil & gas and

energy sectors.

“Suriname is open for business. We invite

you to team up with us to take advantage of

the opportunities as partners and with a

strong focus on sustainable development.”

Recently, Staatsolie hosted the official and

inaugural Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas virtual

under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, International Business and

International Cooperation, Government of the

Republic of Suriname and the Ministry of

Natural Resources, Government of the

Republic of Suriname.

SEOGS 2021 brings together an international

assembly of government officials, public

sector stakeholders and policymakers with

IOC’s, NOC‘s, independents, service

companies, technology providers and the

entire oil, gas and energy value chain.

Staatsolie plays a fundamental role in the

development of Suriname’s hydrocarbon

potential. The NOC intends to develop

renewable and sustainable energy resources,

as well as contributing to the local economic

development through local content strategies.

Staatsolie is involved in exploration, drilling,

production, refining, marketing, sales, and

transport of crude and refined products, and

the generation of electricity. The company's

core activities are grouped in an Upstream and

a Downstream asset, strongly supported by a

variety of corporate services.

Staatsolie’s Vision 2030 is geared towards a

sustainable energy future for Suriname and

making a strong contribution to the

advancement of our society. This Vision

represents the spirit and energy of Staatsolie’s

successful history of development, growth

and its distinctive value-based performance

culture.

48 22


S U R I N A M E O I L & G A S

Brian Glover

Vice President Offshore, Staatsolie

‘We are offering 8 New

Blocks in Suriname’s

SHO Acreage’

Oil and Gas Republic talks to Brian Glover,

Staatsolie’s Offhsore Vice President

regarding the opportunities in the Suriname


Interview by: Tobi Owoyimika

OGR: What is your assessment of the

Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Industry?

Brain: Suriname’s Energy industry has of

course been around a long time, and the

hydrocarbon component stretches back to

the ’80s.

Offshore discoveries will be a new chapter

for the industry and at a time when there is

a far greater focus on renewables and not

just hydrocarbon generated energy.

Staatsolie’s challenge will be to ensure that

we move forward not only with a focus on

sustaining our business position but also

that we do it in a way that embraces the

energy transition from oil to gas while

continuously developing Suriname’s

renewable portfolio, firstly leveraging the

Afobaka hydropower asset.

As we continue this journey, Staatsolie and

Suriname will have to remain flexible and

able to adapt to the challenges and

opportunities presented in the burgeoning

new energy chapter that offshore presents.

OGR: How did Staatsolie fare during the

COVID-19 pandemic?

Brain: Operating amidst the pandemic was

very challenging. Oil prices were

significantly impacted by the pandemic.

With lockdowns, job losses and other

economy-impacting effects, demand for oil

worldwide dropped dramatically in 2020,

which led to markedly lower prices.

Despite the challenges, Staatsolie

performed well in 2020 by focusing on

managing the unexpectedly low oil prices driven

by a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and,

quickly temporizing investments and/or cutting

CAPEX and OPEX to still deliver solid financial

results and guarantee the continuation of the

company.

OGR: Last year, Staatsolie announced some

competitive bidding round, and offering eight

new blocks in the Shallow Offshore (SHO)

acreage in Suriname. What's the current status

of the blocks?

Brain: Indeed, there were in total 8 blocks in the

Shallow Offshore (SHO) acreage of Suriname

offered for the bidding round 2020/2021. The

blocks are in a very prospective area, west and

south of the recent Deepwater discoveries in

Block 58 and northwest of the onshore

producing fields.

The bidding round was launched on 16

November 2020 and has been closed on 30 April

2021 following the timeline provided to the

bidders.

From the 8 blocks which were on offer,

Staatsolie has received a total of ten bids for

three of the eight blocks.

Currently, Staatsolie is busy with the

evaluation of the bids and will announce the

winning bidders before 30 May 2021.

OGR: Taking an overview on the recent

discoveries in Suriname offshore oil and gas

industry; Is Staatsolie the agency that oversees

Suriname's hydrocarbon discoveries?

Brian: Staatsolie has an institutional and

commercial role. SHI, which embodies the

institutional role of Staatsolie (acting on behalf of

the government), signs the PSC (Production

Sharing Contracts) with the IOCs/offshore

operators.

The same has been done for Block 58, where the

major hydrocarbon discoveries are located. The

PSC clearly states the fiscal and commercial terms,

including royalty, tax, and profit share for

Suriname.

SHI must make sure that the IOC/operator act

according to the PSC and ensure optimal value

creation for Suriname from the deep-water

hydrocarbon development and production.

Staatsolie, in its commercial role, can become a

partner in developing and producing a field or

fields by participating (sharing the cost and profit)

up to 20%. This will increase the profit shares from

the producing fields for Suriname.

OGR: How is Staatsolie planning to market the

crude oil?

Brian: The first oil in Block 58, is forecast in 2025 if

everything goes as planned. Staatsolie will provide

all support, assistance, guidance to the

operators/IOCs to achieve this goal, which will

work in favour of all partners and Suriname.

However, as Staatsolie, we won’t be involved in

marketing the crude oil as this will be done by the

operator.

Together with the light oil, there is also a huge

amount of gas encountered. Staatsolie is currently

looking at options on how to best produce and

market the gas.

49 22


GUYANA SURINAME BASIN

TotalEnergies, Qatar Petroleum Receives Two New

Shallow Water Exploration Licenses offshore Suriname

With these two new operated exploration

blocks, TotalEnergies expands its position in

Suriname, an emerging world class basin. A 3D

seismic acquisition campaign will be carried out

on these 2 licenses to confirm their potential.

“This award demonstrates our ability to capture

exploration acreage in a core area for

TotalEnergies, pursuing our strategy of

exploring for low development cost oil

resources in highly prospective basins,

particularly here, reinforcing our operatorship

position in Suriname Block 58 ”, said Kevin

McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration.

“We are delighted to continue to expand our

strategic international partnership with Qatar

Petroleum on these blocks.”

TotalEnergies will operate the blocks with a 40%

working interest, alongside Qatar Petroleum

(20%) and the national company Staatsolie

(40%).

TotalEnergies and its partner Qatar

Petroleum have been awarded

Block 6 and Block 8 in the Suriname

SHO Bid Round 2020/2021. TotalEnergies

shall operate these blocks, situated in

shallow water

with depths between 30 meters and 50 meters,

and adjacent to the TotalEnergies operated

Block 58, where 4 significant discoveries have

been made since January 2020 and where

operations are continuing in 2021.

TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that

produces and markets energies on a global

scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green

gases, renewables and electricity. Our 105,000

employees are committed to energy that is ever

more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible

to as many people as possible. Active in more

than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts

sustainable development in all its dimensions at

the heart of its projects and operations to

contribute to the well-being of people.

Mayson Blackhouse Assists Foreign Companies Establish in Guyana

Mayson Blackhouse, a Guyanese Energy

Investment Firm, is making headway

towards the sustainable development

of Guyana’s growing oil and gas industry, and

assisting foreign companies interested to

establish in Guyana.

Mayson Blackhouse was one of the numerous

companies established as an indigenous

Guyanese Investment Firm that deploys

private equity and venture capital into

businesses across major industries. For many

years, the company is at the forefront, playing a

key role in shaping, employing and training

high-quality people to cultivate Guyana’s

human capital, aligning the interests of

investors, customers, community and nation.

At the sideline of the Guyana Basin Summit

2021, Qaasim O.B. Shittu, Executive Director of

Mayson Blackhouse, who spoke with our

correspondent in an exclusive interview, noted

that Guyana is still very much in its infancy and

the country has the unique opportunity to learn

from best practices and mistakes of all the oilproducing

countries that preceded it and

significantly accelerate its development.

He said, “We are taking a long-term approach to

invest in Guyana. The companies we have set up

provide core onshore services within the supply

chain for all the major projects to date, which

are primarily offshore production, marine shore

base, and onshore construction projects.

“But we are very intentional and thoughtful

about which foreign companies and investors

that we align ourselves with. I have the good

fortune of having an expansive network in this

industry that spans the globe.

“I have spoken with and met with senior

executives of well over 100 companies and

investors that are interested in Guyana.

Thousands are interested, but very few have the

right mixture of a long-term vision and strategy,

corporate culture and ethics, and risk appetite

that we believe it will take to be successful in

Guyana.

“We are one of the few firms that have been on

the ground operating since 2017. Our focus in

2021 is to be at the heart of facilitating

significant foreign direct investment into

Guyana that will create long-term value for the

people of Guyana while also providing robust

returns to investors.”

Mayson Blackhouse Guyana was incorporated

in Georgetown as a company with an

industrialist vision to generate attractive

investment returns for businesses in major

industries but not limited to: Upstream Oil &

Gas Services, Trading & Midstream,

Renewables, Commercial & Residential

Development, Infrastructure, Technology &

Innovation.

50 22

OIL AND OIL AND GAS GAS REPUBLIC REPUBLIC I SPECIAL I SPECIAL EDITION EDITION

WOMEN IN ENERGY

Dr Oby Ezekwesili Highlights Challenges on Gender

Equality, Encourages Women to Engage in Self

Discipline, Career Development

Nigeria's former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili,

has encouraged women, especially those in the energy,

oil, gas industry, to stay focused in career development

to discover their full potentials.

This statement comes in line as Dr Oby Ezekwesili delivered a

keynote speech on Gender Equality at the Society for Petroleum

Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Annual International Conference and

Exhibition (NAICE) 2019, where she talked about the challenges

facing women professional in taking up important roles in

society, and more especially occupying senior roles for

companies.

Dr Oby explained that Gender Equality has been a challenge in

major industries while some companies would pretend that they

care about women but when you look at the company's

structure, you will discover that Women aren't taking up

important roles in the organisation.

She noted: "There is a theory that is saying that the lot of women

is becoming better, giving women a rise in percentage

involvement of about 50% - however, if you look at women

involvement in the specialised industry like Oil and Gas, it is

remarkably appalling. Recent research shows that the

involvement level is about 20% while the management level is

close to 17%."

She said that two factors account for this, which are External

and Internal Barriers. And some strategies could be deployed to

close this big gap between men and women.

For external barriers, according to her, includes sexual harassment,

disposition of high-quality jobs to men than women, the relegation of

women, male-orientated ideas, different standard for both women and

men, difficulty for women to advance into management due to male

stereotype.

She hinted that the external barriers can be resolved through the

intervention of a third party - probably hiring a couple of Women

professional and put them in the top position to exercise power without

sentiment.

According to her, the Internal Barriers are the ones that are self-imposed

and are inherent in humans - whether be male or female. These internal

barriers would either be the easiest set of barriers to remove or the

toughest to deal with, depending on the situation the Women find

themselves in.

"The third party power can try to override some of the external barriers

but what if the individual who is the cause decides not to stop it, what

would you do?

"What women should be doing in this age is taking personal

responsibility in the field of engineering to use it as a medium to

breakthrough. This radical change does not start from the outside, real

change does not first begin from the outside - change starts from the

inside," she added.

Dr Oby stressed that Women professional has an opportunity in

rejuvenating their capacity and convince the world that Women would

do it better.

52


WOMEN IN ENERGY

She continued: "Excellence is the quality of being outstanding

and very superior; displaying extreme brilliance; the ability to

set and achieve a set determined goal, one to which we are

committed.

"Fear can be a tool. Fear motivates you. It doesn't take you

down. You should see fear in this light.

"You must work hard, be productive - no one would be nice to

you. You don't sign into mediocrity which has become the

modus operandi of people in our society.

"Be known for consistency. Someone once said to me: "integrity

is not complete until it is consistent".

"There is no place for situational integrity: probably displaying

integrity in the morning and an absolute lack of it in the

afternoon. Integrity is a whole concept. So once there is a step

out of it, it is no longer integrity.

"Most people display integrity when the amount is fifty million;

the moment the money rises to five hundred million, they

quickly wave goodbye to integrity!

"So, that's part of consistency: that you are not ready to trade

your integrity, no matter what the prize is - and that is what

causes excellence.

"We equally have to be passionate - you have to believe in

something and be prepared to lay down your all for it.

"Self-respect is key. There should be things you shouldn't want

to be associated with - it's not another thing, probably pride or

fear - it's simply self-respect.

"Keep things in balance; nurture relationships. It is wrong

thinking to feeling, as a man, that the essence of the woman is to

sit at home and not pursue a career - be it whatever.

"You are equally bad as a woman to feel that you don't need to

marry simply because you want to pursue a career. Such kind of

mindset is wrong. You are part of the problem.

"You can have a beautiful relationship in marriage and yet have

an amazing career. That's my thinking and it's something that

works for me. We must keep things in balance.

"Seek feedback. You can never go wrong when you seek

feedback! Don't be like certain elements that hate feedbacks.

You hate feedbacks?" "We will see your backs!"

She also mentioned that other measures for professional

excellence require building on technical skills, all of which are

embedded in self-discipline.

In her words, "I am tired of people thinking it is a mad race,

therefore smash everybody and don't see that they are

suffering. How can we live that kind of life? It's unsustainable.

"Where the woman feels inadequate or undecided about a

particular career or profession, just because they feel that they

are not that good. What voice are you, as a woman, listening to?

"Hey! Get ye behind me, Satan; I am good!" Say that always to

yourself. You have to give yourself that validation.

"Fear of failing is another challenge. Men fail all the time and

nobody puts a nail on their head. So it's okay to fail. The problem

never works at not failing. I'm uncomfortable with failing.

Personally, when I fail, I'm at my fiercest when I come back.

"Fear of taking a risk; taking up personal goals; fear of recognition; fear of

money; fear of success; fear of leading men and exercising authority and

power.

"If your position comes with the need to lead men, you just need to be a

human being. Don't go trying to prove a point. Be your professional self.

You don't need to prove a point. A point has already been proven in the

sense that you are the person leading.

"Fear of not been validated by external beings; fear of been lonely; fear

of not been liked. Who told you that the world will like you? Just do what

you ought to do.

"Solve problems. There are a lot of problems that need a solution. It is the

self assumption that would make you think about whether or not people

will like you. "Hey! Don't like me - but I've got a problem to solve".

"Fear of been judged harshly or compared unfavourably, especially with

your male counterparts or with some female folks.

"Fear of being considered over or too ambitious. I say to women: leave

the ambition issue and say to people that you are a woman with a vision.

" Fear of visibility and public speaking. Most of you women, if you are

asked to come up here and pick the microphone, you would feel it's

already an exciting centre. You must get rid of that fear.

"Fear of been lonely at the top. Guess what? This fear is peculiar to the

men too. From my perceptive as a Christian, you can not be lonely at the

top.

"Fear of been defamed, slandered and lied about. I want to get through to

you women - because these are the mechanism they use to stop you;

most times fabricating stories that only existed in their wild imagination.

Most times, the stories would be so perfectly coined that they would

appear to have some elements of truth in them and this would pierce

your spirit. But you have to say to them: "There's no stopping us".

She advised Women to remove the tensions between their Career,

Marriage and Motherhood, adding that Women have to make the right

choice and take responsibility instead of allowing family affairs to

interfere in their profession.

She explained: "Prepare yourself to tackle that challenge by setting out a

determined balance on your family affairs, workplace and many more.

"Determine also to have the growth mindset. Don't have the fixed

mindset, constantly telling yourself: "This is what I am", "This is what I can

be". No, don't ever do that!

"Be committed to frequent update of your adaptive skills. Don't fade out.

Upgrade every time.

"Set a clear goal of how high you wish to reach and put a personal

development program that will not hinder your attainment of set goals.

"Women need diverse thinking. We can not afford to leave any talent

untapped. Why are you wasting talent?

"You are just a bushman if you think that because somebody is a woman

then she shouldn't be allowed to sit in the same office as you. Know that

you are the problem.

"If you are a Manager here, know this: Companies with increase gender

inclusion have greatly increased in their rate of turnover. Companies that

are breaking all fronts in goal attainment are deliberate in assembling

gender diverse teams.

"This program in itself is a conscious, deliberate, intentional effort to

awaken the world to more possibilities for Women professional," she

concluded.

53


WOMEN IN ENERGY

WEOG Commences 2021 Women in Energy, Oil, Gas E-summit

days when I visit sites, the standard of life there

was so poor. So we would train them on

sustainable small-scale business in the industry

partnering with companies they host.

Women in Energy Oil and Gas (WEOG) provide

networking opportunities and foster the career,

business and leadership development of

women in the energy, oil and gas industries.

As part of its achievements, WEOG won the 1ST

PAN AFRICAN WOMEN IN ENERGY AWARD

2020.

The conference tagged African queen of energy

awards with the theme: "The Pan African

Dream – African energy resilience and

recovery"It attracted delegates from within and

outside the continent, especially women

involved in the energy, oil and gas, power and

renewable sectors.

The contingent under the auspices of Women in

Energy, Oil and Gas (WEOG) Nigeria won the

Pan- African Women in Energy Group of the

Year Award and The Pan- African Community

Leader (individual) award.

Women in Energy, Oil and Gas

(WEOG), has commenced its 2021

E-summit series. WEOG recognises

t h e f a c t t h a t Wo m e n a r e n o t

predominantly in charge or equitably in

c h a rge o f t h e i r a s s o c i ations o r

organizations.

In harnessing these challenges, WEOG

a s s e m b l e s p r o m i n e n t w o m e n

professionals to deliberate on the

solutions as it relates to gender equality

and developing women capacity.

During its May e-summit, the keynote

speakers and executives include, Dr Lois

Frankel and other panellists, who

enlightens women on transformational

tips and strategies, building personal brand

and image, learning to speak like a pro and

so much more.

Dr Dunni Owo is the current President of

Women in Energy Oil and Gas (WEOG)

Nigeria, a body designed to harness female

talents in the oil and gas industry that has

remained dormant.

In an interview with The Guardian, Dr

Dunni emphasized that WEOG is a forum

where women across the entire value

chain of the energy industry, from the

upstream, midstream and downstream,

come together as a body to network,

collaborate, discuss and harness the

implementation of the United Nations

Sustainable Development Goal 05, which

focuses on gender equality, diversity, and

inclusion in the workplace.

Part of its objectives is to see an enhancement

of 50 per cent latent wisdom, energy, and

capabilities inputted by women in the industry

that has been unexpressed in the industry.

In her words, "We discovered the need to

harness such experiences for the growth of the

industry and nation.

"We provide networking at all levels to support

career development, promote diversity and

inclusion of SDG in the industry. We also provide

a platform for mentorship of young

professionals and share experiences and

information that would help create a work-life

balance.

"As President, we have drawn up a STEM

programme to reach out to girls and encourage

them to study such courses. I want girls to have

well-built self-esteem, confidence, be

knowledge-driven and have a paradigm shift.

"We also want to reach out to women in oilproducing

communities. In my active industry

Some of the delegates from Nigeria include the

chairperson of the group, Engr. (Mrs.) Olu

Maduka; the group’s global matron, Mrs Susan

Morrice; the National President Dr Oladunni

Owo; Board executive, Chief (Mrs.) Anita

Okuribido; Engr. (Mrs.) Funmi Kadri; Mrs.

Dolapo Okulaja – Kotun and Mrs. Dorcas James.

Okuribido, popularly called Mama Renewable,

won the community leadership award. She was

recognised for her assiduous, dogged and

emphatic drive to close the energy poverty gap

in Nigeria through renewable energy and green

solutions for all and sundry with extensive focus

on the grass root and rural communities.

Dr Dunni Owo fondly called “The Refinery Lady”

h av i n g a u t h o re d a n a wa rd - w i n n i n g

masterpiece title: Blackgold Refinery Business

Made Easy, led the delegation of over 20 Energy

Women who represented Nigeria at the

phenomenal event remarked during a

Thanksgiving session held at the organization”s

Secretariat in Lagos, that the award came as a

big surprise and declared the dedication of the

award to God, then to all members and

participants of the Women in Energy, Oil and

Gas ( WEOG) Nigeria forum, to all African girl

child in STEM, to all African young professional

women in the energy value chain, to all African

women in the Energy Industry and all African

Women in the oil and gas Host communities

54


PHOTO STORIES

Oil and Gas Republic Magazine got some endorsement from African Energy

Chamber and Women in Energy, Oil and Gas (WEOG)

Energy Shero - Mrs Adepeju Adekunle, Former Chairperson, NLNG WOMEN Group

receives her Women in Energy, Oil & Gas (WEOG) Award of Excellence at the NOG 2021.

Mrs Adepeju Adekunle

SNEPCO wins Woman In Leadership Award at NOG

WOMEN IN ENERGY

“...Even as we reduce reliance on fossil fuels, natural gas will

remain needed as the reliable partner of renewables as part

of the energy mix” - Iman Hill, IOGP’s Executive Director

We are also going to complete a Flaring

Management Guideline with the World Bank’s

Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR)

Partnership, which will be relevant for

Governments, regulatory bodies as well as the


To further enhance effectiveness and

efficiency throughout the supply chain we aim

to encourage the oil and gas sector to use the

procurement specification developed by our

Joint Industry Program.

And following the development of several

Covid related guidance documents, we will

publish a comprehensive Well-Being

Framework.

OGR: What trends have recently been

dominating the upstream sector?

Oil and Gas Republic talks to Iman Hill, Executive

Director of International Association of Oil and Gas

Producers (IOGP), regarding the group’s position

for Energy Transition.

Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme brings the Excerpts:

Iman: The challenges resulting from the

unprecedented drop of global oil demand by

almost 9 mb/d in 2020 and an oil price that

dropped to 18-year lows last spring have

created a level of uncertainty that is as high as

most of us have ever seen.

Importantly, the sector is thinking deeply and

planning for the energy transitions journey

and so, I believe, decision-making will be more

heavily influenced by this than in previous

years.

OGR: Please briefly tell us about

yourself.

Iman: After more than 30 years in the

oil and gas industry, working on every

continent in a variety of technical and

leadership positions, I was appointed

Executive Director of IOGP in

December last year. Together with a

great team of highly dedicated and

passionate colleagues.

I aim to further enhance the

understanding of the contribution oil

and gas make to everyday life and to

fulfilling global energy demand, as well

as the critical role the industry plays in

the energy transitions to a lowercarbon

future.

IOGP also acts as a unique forum in

which our members identify and share

knowledge and good practices to

achieve significant improvements in

safety, health, the environment,

s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n a n d s o c i a l

responsibility.

OGR: What's IOGP’s main focus in 2021?

Iman: It is without a doubt that the

pandemic has hit the upstream industry

hard. As IOGP, we are committed to

delivering value to our members through

these challenging times. This includes

support in the areas of health and safety,

from guidance on vaccination to transport

of infected personnel etc.

One important focus for 2021 is a

comprehensive strategic review. This will

position IOGP to respond to the expected

challenges and transitions in the industry

across our membership. Our attention on

driving ever better safety, environmental

and engineering performance as well as cost

efficiencies through standardization will not

waver.

A couple of examples to share:

Emissions reduction is a top priority for the

industry, with OGCI and IPIECA, we are

working on Recommended Practices for

Methane Emissions Detection.

Logically, I think we will see that Exploration

activity will be under real pressure which

means that any executed will have to

demonstrate value creation.

Projects that receive Final Investment

Decision go ahead will be large and gas

weighted. Upstream capital will be subject to

even more stringent allocation and is unlikely

to be higher than in recent years.

As they have been since the 2014 downturn,

operational excellence and cost efficiencies

across the value chain will remain key.

OGR: What issues should be addressed to

strengthen the upstream sector for growth

opportunities?

Iman: Oil and gas will be needed for the

foreseeable future. According to the IEA’s

Sustainable Development Scenario 46% of the

global energy, demand will still be met by oil

and gas in 2040. However, production from

existing fields declines by approximately 8 per

cent each year, which is why investments are

56


WOMEN IN ENERGY

required – not only in existing but also in

new fields.

IOGP’s role in this context is multidimensional.

Not only do we engage with

stakeholders around the globe to enhance

understanding of what is needed to meet

energy demand, but we also support our

members in operating as safely and costefficiently

as possible while minimizing

their environmental footprint.

OGR: How are your member companies

working towards Energy Transition?

Iman: There is more than one way to

achieve a lower-carbon future. Countries

are taking different approaches, reflecting

their unique demand dynamics, capabilities

and cultures.

IOGP’s Members are supporting these

energy transitions in different ways; by

reducing emissions in their operations, by

providing cleaner energy and by developing

lower-carbon technologies such as Carbon

Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and

clean hydrogen.

The oil and gas industry has the know-how,

t h e e x p e r i e n c e a n d t h e p r o j e c t

management capabilities to significantly

contribute to global society’s efforts to

tackle climate change and we take this very

seriously as part of our License to Operate.

OGR: Please could you give us a glance at

IOGP’s major projects on climate change?

Iman: We are engaged in a variety of

initiatives and projects.

To give you a couple of examples: IOGP’s

Engineering Leadership Council is leading

an initiative to contribute to the Low

Carbon Agenda with engineering standards

and operator collaboration to develop a

portfolio of deliverables related to

electrification, flaring and venting, carbon

capture and storage, and energy efficiency.

IOGP has been a supporting organization to

the Methane Guiding Principles since 2018

and is contributing with a range of good

practice guidance including Guidelines for

Methane emissions target setting as well as

for detection, quantification and reporting.

We have also endorsed the European

Union’s ‘Green Deal’, which aims to achieve

climate neutrality by 2050. And the

Sustainable Reporting Guidance published

in 2020 will help in reducing the carbon

footprint of upstream operations around

the world.

OGR: How is IOGP working towards

creating a sustainable future for the oil and

gas industry?

Iman Hill, Execu ve Director of Interna onal

Associa on of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP)

Iman: That oil and gas are needed for

decades to come are not in question.

And even as we reduce reliance on fossil

fuels, natural gas will remain needed as the

reliable partner of renewables as part of the

energy mix.

Beyond that, the skills and assets of the oil

and gas industry are needed to make

Geothermal sources of energy an economic

reality.

However, what we also look at in the

industry is how oil and gas are contributing

to the 17 United Nations Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs).

Just to give you a few examples of what

IOGP is doing to support our industry in this

domain:

SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being: Land

transportation Safety Recommended

Practice, Driver Fatigue campaign, Life-

Saving Rules, Process Safety Fundamentals,

Offshore Helicopter Recommended

Practices, Statements on COVID-19

vaccination.

SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and

Production: Guidance documents on waste

m a n a g e m e n t , s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n o f

procurement specifications for a more

effective, cheaper and faster supply chain.

SDG 13 – Climate Action: see examples

from questions 2 and 6.

SDG 14 – Life Below Water: Participation in

two workshops convened by the UN Global

Ocean Treaty on Marine Biodiversity of

Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ),

accreditation to participate in UN-Oceans,

participation in review and consultation

process of UN’s Sustainable Ocean Business

Principles.

The International Association of Oil & Gas

Producers (IOGP) is the voice of the global

upstream industry. Oil and gas continue to

provide a significant proportion of the

world’s energy to meet growing demands

for heat, light and transport.

IOGP's Members produce 40% of the

world’s oil and gas. They operate in all

producing regions: the Americas, Africa,

Europe, the Middle East, the Caspian, Asia

and Australia.

As part of its objectives, IOGP works on

behalf of the world’s oil & gas exploration

and production (E&P) companies to

promote safe, responsible, and sustainable

operations.

Mission

3To facilitate continuous improvement in

HSE, security, social responsibility,

engineering and operations.

3To undertake special projects and

develop industry positions on critical issues

affecting the industry.

3To create alignment between oil & gas

E&P companies and with relevant national

and international industry associations.

3To advance the views and positions of oil

& gas E&P companies to international

regulators, legislative bodies and other

relevant stakeholders.

3To provide a forum for sharing

experiences, debating emerging issues and

establishing common ground to promote

c o - o p e r a t i o n , c o n s i s t e n c y a n d

effectiveness.

Objectives

3To improve understanding of our industry

by being a visible, accessible, reliable and

credible source of information.

3To represent and advocate industry views

by developing effective proposals based on

professionally established technical

arguments in a societal context.

3To improve the collection, analysis and

dissemination of data on HSE and security

performance.

3To develop and disseminate best practice

in HSE, security, engineering and operations

continually improved by feedback from

m e m b e r s , r e g u l a t o r s a n d o t h e r

stakeholders.

3To promote awareness and best practice

in social responsibility and sustainability.

3To ensure that the membership is highly

representative of our industry.

57


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EXCLUSIVE

H UAW E I I N T E R V I E W

Wang Hao

Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Huawei

‘Our LTE Technology is

Revolutionizing Africa’s

Oileld Operations’

Wang Hao, Huawei’s Chief Technology

Officer (CTO) talks to Oil and Gas

Republic about the company's LTE

technology that is revolutionizing oilfield

operations.

Interview by: Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

OGR: Please tell us briefly about

yourself.

Wang: I graduated from Petroleum

University in China with a bachelor

degree in Petroleum Engineering and a

master degree in oilfield development. I

have served in the oil and gas industry

for the last 20 years.

Before I join Huawei, I worked with

Schlumberger for more than 12 years in

various roles including technical, sales,

managerial roles covering over 30

countries across the globe.

I was former Schlumberger consulting

services general manager for Asia.

Now with Huawei working as an Oil and

Gas CTO, leading the team in intelligent

oilfield ICT solutions, leveraging my indepth

knowledge of Petroleum

exploration, field development, and

digital oil field operations.

OGR: How is Huawei optimizing

Africa’s oil fields with digital

technologies?

Wang: Huawei has been working in

Africa for more than two decades.

Through our continuous digital

innovation and technology

improvement, we have brought world-class

digital technologies into Africa, both

through our own local operations and our

partners’ network.

Technologies that you are all aware of such

a s b r o a d b a n d n e t w o r k , w i r e l e s s

connectivity, cloud infrastructure, energysaving

data centres, etc. have been provided

to our African oil customers. It has been

used in various oil field operations to help

optimize oil production.

For example, a range of data centres with

advanced cooling system and energy-saving

features have been adopted by many

customers to not only cutting the bills on

electricity consumption but ensuring the

data are securely stored and laying a good

foundation to achieve better exploration

and field development results.

OGR: What are some of your key projects in

Africa?

Wang: As mentioned earlier, we have a long

working history in Africa. Throughout the

years, many key projects have been carried

out. Take the largest African oil company

Sonatrach as an example. The digital

transformation project began in 2018,

which is still ongoing.

In line with Sonatrach 2030 vision and the

company’s one cloud strategy, Huawei has

introduced cloud-based solutions to centrally

manage multiple data centres, streamline

resource silos, and significantly improve

resource utilization.

With Huawei Cloud implemented, on-demand

resource allocation, supporting more services

and accelerating service rollout becomes

possible and simple. Through the one cloud

system, ERP has been deployed successfully

to the entire Sonatrach group. So far we have

achieved cloud transformation of the IT

systems. Making IT the new engine, further

down the road, we will be working closely with

Sonatrach to transform their support and

operation systems to improve the overall

operational efficiency.

Other key projects I can list here are longdistance

oil pipelines surveillance, data

transfer, in Central Africa across multiple

countries, data centre facilities in Nigeria,

Egypt, Algeria, and LTE projects in Nigeria and

so on.

OGR: How is the LTE helping to boost

productivity and reduce cost on projects?

Wang: That is really a good question. I’d like to

start with why LTE? Information and

communications technology (ICT) is becoming

increasingly important for oil companies who

are looking for ways to digitize their

operations for a more visual approach to

ensure secured and efficient oil production.

With oilfields often located in vast open

spaces, Long Term Evolution (LTE), nextgeneration

wireless broadband technology is

ideal for oil companies that are implementing

smart solutions to revolutionize the

management and operations of oilfields.

59


HUAWEI INTERVIEW

Addressing operational challenges to

enhance operational safety and efficiency,

seamless communication is crucial to the

efficient operation of oilfields. With LTE

technology, existing challenges such as the

lack of visibility in oilfield operations and

security can be addressed.

Now answering your question about how

LTE helps boost oil production and reduce

overall cost, it comes in several ways. First

of all, LTE technology enables real-time

video streaming for a more transparent

production process and improved

management efficiency. The collection and

monitoring of real-time data from oil wells

and auxiliary facilities are crucial to detect

anomalies and optimize production.

As oil wells are often dispersed across

hundreds of kilometres, bottlenecks in data

collection often occur due to the poor

performance of communications networks

in large open areas. While deploying wired

networks is inefficient and costly, LTE can

provide wireless communications networks

to enable smooth data transmission across

large open spaces.

Secondly, LTE provides video surveillance

systems for enhanced security at oilfields.

The surveillance system will enable oil

companies to monitor the surroundings of

their sites and provide early warnings

against intrusion or equipment sabotage.

LTE technologies also play a key role in the

implementation as a video surveillance

system and big data services will have

bandwidth demands that older generations

of wireless networks will not be able to

support.

Thirdly, LTE enables multimedia trunking

systems to improve the efficiency of

multiple work teams. Oil field operations

are complex and require a number of teams

to work together on routine checks on oil

w e l l s a n d p i p e l i n e s , e q u i p m e n t

maintenance and repair, troubleshooting

and emergency response.

B y i m p l e m e n t i n g a t r u n k i n g

communications system that supports realtime

multi-party voice communications,

collaboration can be enhanced and the

different teams can address situations

through video and voice calls without

having to be onsite in person, especially for

the moment with COVID-19, the new

norm.

OGR: What challenges have you

encountered so far?

Wang: Indeed, we have encountered some

challenges. Being No.1 it’s the change of

working culture. The technologies we

provide to African oil companies are quite

advanced comparing to the legacies.

Upgrading always comes along with the pain

of changing the working culture, which is

the people who are resisting and not easy to

adapt.

Through our local initiatives like online

education, workshops, technology seminars

etc, we are taking things step by step

p a t i e n t l y . W e a l l k n o w d i g i t a l

transformation is CEO’s KPI, but in places,

we face challenges from unstable

management.

And in some other places, managements are

willing to ride the digital transformation

journey with Huawei, but with a lack of

financial support. We are looking into those

challenges together with our wider range of

partners to come out with some tangible

solutions.

We work together as one team sharing the

common goal that is helping Africa become

energy sufficient continent. With that in

mind, any challenges ahead of us will be

tackled with ease.

OGR: What are your contributions to ICT

development in Africa?

Wang: Huawei being the global leading ICT

provider provides all levels of ICT

infrastructure to the Africa continent. Not

only provide such products but also work

closely with customers, partners, local

universities to collaborate and co-develop

leading ICT technologies and suitable

solutions to the local markets.

In Huawei, we have an organization called

Openlab mainly working on such

collaboration, we already have an open lab

in Cairo and Johannesburg.

At the customer site, we have also built

several technology collaboration centres

across Africa. On the first day when Huawei

arrived in Africa, we started engaging with

local communities through education,

talents cultivation, certification programs,

and retaining and attracting local talents to

work in ICT development for Africa.

At Huawei, we take around 13% of our

revenue back in R&D, and through our

technology development with our open lab

and innovation centres with customers, we

make a sufficient amount of investment too.

We are welcoming more and more partners

who share the same Africa dream with us to

be onboard and co-develop future ICT

technologies for our Africa motherland.

OGR: What are your takeaways from the

Angola Oil & Gas Technology Conference

last year?

Wang: First of all, special thanks to the

organizer, the Association of Contracting

Companies of the Oil Industry of Angola

(AECIPA)for organizing such a great

conference during the global pandemic.

Though the time at the moment to world

economic recovery is still tough, we see a

good side of optimism from Angola Oil

industry.

Many participants in the conference from

operators and service providers, even the

finance sector have demonstrated great

efforts in 2020 to deal with challenges

imposed upon us by the oil price war and

COVID-19 pandemic. We see many

potential areas where we can add

tremendous values to and work closely with

local companies to co-develop technical

solutions to address some of the issues and

challenges the oil industry is facing at the

moment, for instance, remote operation,

remote site energy supply, integrated

management system, ever-green and

energy-saving data centres.

The global pandemic and fluctuating oil

price have accelerated technology adoption

in the oil industry. This has been the fact

acknowledged by all participants in the

conference. Being a global leading

technology company, it’s our responsivity to

help African oilfields achieve more

production through digital and intelligent

upgrades.

60


Spotlight on Africa’s Oil and Gas

:

Growth,

Challenges

, Development Strategies

Africa is a blessed continent of 55 countries with abundant energy

resources, and the continent has been producing oil for over 70 years.

Africa accounts for around 9% of the global oil production, and this

production is coming from 20 African countries across all five regions.

However, the production output is concentrated in five countries namely,

Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and Libya, who between them account for

over 80% of Africa's oil production.

In this article, Oil and Gas Republic analyses some of the growth

opportunities, challenges in the Sub-Saharan Africa oil and gas industry,

featuring insights from industry experts which will serve as a development

strategies to harness the region's oil and gas resources for economic

prosperity and well-being of the people.

As of 17th June 2021, there were 178.2 million confirmed cases of

coronavirus, causing nearly 3.86 million deaths, while approximately

162.7 million people recovered from the disease. The number of

confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa amounted to 5,179,687 which

represented around 2.9 per cent of the infections around the world.

South Africa is the most drastically affected country, with more than 1.78

million infections.

In the pre-COVID-19 era, in 2019, the African oil and gas industry was

heading towards positive gains for the first time in several years. But due

to the Coronavirus, it has however reversed most of these gains as we

experienced the biggest global oil demand slump in history in the year

2020, as well as an acceleration of the global energy transition. Experts

have also said that Africa can benefit from early adoption of the energy

transition, using oil and gas revenues to accelerate and move into clean

energy.

According to a report, Africa's economy shrank by 2.1% in 2020 and is

expected to grow by 3.4% in 2021 as the global economy recovers from

the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 1.2 million vaccines have

been deployed which means that around 16% of the world population

has been vaccinated.


Facts about African Continent

Ø Global Population Growth is expected to

occur in Africa.

Ø Africa is the World's Youngest Continent.

Ø West Africa to experience the biggest gasto-power

project by 2025.

Ø Uganda gets local content contracts worth

$600 million

Ø Nigeria’s Gas Reserves reach 206.53 tcf.

Ø South Sudan Launches First-Ever Oil and

Gas Licensing Round.

Ø African Continental Free Trade Agreement

(AFCFTA) commences.

Ø Africa FDI inflows reach $39.8 billion in 2020.

Ø Africa dominates the GECF Agenda on

natural gas .

61


TOP STORY

Africa is gradually becoming a continent of

influence. This time, not by its economy or

energy potentials but by its population.

Experts have said that Africa's population

can help the continent to harness its

hydrocarbon resources for economic

growth and development through regional

integration. The report has shown that

between now and 2050, more than half of

global population growth is expected to

occur in Africa. The continent has the

highest rate of population growth among

developed countries. According to the

United Nations, the population of sub-

Saharan Africa is projected to double by

2050.

"A rapid population increase in Africa is

anticipated even if there is a substantial

reduction of fertility levels soon. Regardless

of the uncertainty surrounding future

trends of infertility in Africa, the large

number of young people currently on the

continent, who will reach adulthood in the

coming years and have children of their

own, ensures that the region will play a

central role in shaping the size and

distribution of the world's population over

the coming decades," the UN said.

Africa is the world's youngest continent

with almost 60 per cent of its population as

of 2019 under the age of 25. The UN's

demographic projections predicted the

median age in the continent to be 19.8 in

2020. On the continent, Mauritius was

expected to have the highest median age,

37.4, and Niger was expected to have the

lowest, 15.1. In 2019, more than 1/3 of the

population was aged between 15-34. The

UN also projected that by 2100, Africa's

youth population could be equivalent to

twice Europe's entire population.

Africa will lead the way in population

growth, accounting for half of the total

increase in 2050, with Asia following in

second place. India will become the world’s

most populous country by 2030.

Several reports confirm that the future

looks bright for the African energy industry

and the continent is still largely underexplored.

The significant energy resources

found across the continent have made it a

prime region for investment for both local

and international investors.

The Spanish government is focusing on

Africa to boost its diplomatic and business

ties, marking out the continent as its

ambitious plan to build closer economic and

institutional ties.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said he

wanted to "turn this decade ... into the

decade of Spain in Africa.”

Sánchez unveiled his "Africa Focus 2023"

plan at an event in Madrid attended by

Ghana's president, Nana Akufo-Addo, the

UK PM Boris Johnson

foreign ministers of Ghana and Senegal,

Kenya's head of trade, and the president of

the African Development Bank, Akinwumi

Adesina.

Spain had few colonial possessions in Africa

compared with some other European

countries, but Sánchez noted that the

African continent lies just a couple of dozen

kilometres away from the southern Spanish

coast. He described Spain as "Europe's

southern gateway" for Africa.

FocusAfrica2023 will also address Spain's

strategic action for and with Africa, in

response to the impact of COVID19 on the

continent and in support of the launch of the

African Continental Free Trade Area

(AfCFTA).

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has

said:

“

Africa is the future and

the UK has a huge role

to play in realising longterm

prosperity for all

African nations.”

In his welcome speech at this year's UK-

Africa Investment Virtual Summit, he told

delegates that his ambition for the UK to

become Africa's investment partner of

choice.

In his words, "In the last 12 months, the

online deal room platform launched at last

year's summit has attracted over 600 million

new deals, while the newly established

Africa Investors Group grows from

strength-to-strength.

"We in Britain have much to learn from the

e n e r g y a n d a m b i t i o n o f A f r i c a n

entrepreneurship and wealth creation. This

new partnership between our nations that

we embarked on last year. I hope we can

seize more of the opportunities before us to

drive growth, create jobs and build a better

future for all our people.

AfDB's President Akinwumi Adesina

affirmed that Africa is a fertile ground for

investment and the world's next business

frontier. Adesina told UK investors at the

DIT Africa Investment Conference 2021.

He said,

“

Africa still possessed

the same fundamentals

that had driven the

continent's phenomenal

growth over the past

decade.

These potentials are presented by the newly

launched African Continental Free Trade

Area (AFCFTA).

“The fundamentals in those phenomenal

growth rates in Africa are still there. Africa

still leads in terms of ease of doing business.

It's very exciting, the digital explosion that

you see in Africa today," Adesina said, listing

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among others the tide of mergers and

acquisitions among African firms.

"British investors were urged to pay

attention to Africa. "That's where the next

frontier is," Adesina said.

Based on our findings, the African

continent possesses 7.5 per cent and 7.1

per cent of global oil and gas reserves,

respectively, according to Deloitte in 2019.

The continent accounted for more than 7.9

million barrels per day in 2019, which is

about 9.6 per cent of world output. This

level of production is down somewhat from

the heights of 2005 to 2010 when African

production was nearly 10 million barrels per

day. The major production declines

between 2010 and 2015 were mostly due

to lower global oil prices. Output stabilized

between 2015 and 2019.

However, the outbreak of the Covid-19

pandemic and a production dispute

between Saudi Arabia and Russia in Q1,

2020, dramatically led to a dip in oil prices.

As a result, future levels of oil production in

Africa and around the world were highly

uncertain as of June 2020. Prices have,

however, recovered following a supply cut

agreement reached by the Organization of

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and

its allies in April 2020.

In another development, the African

Coalition for Trade & Investment in Natural

Gas (ACTING) recently published its

inaugural "State of Play: African Gas"

report, providing the most comprehensive

resource on Sub-Saharan Africa's natural

gas markets.

The ACTING report highlights that the

continent remains one of the lowest

consumers of gas globally. Low gas

penetration rates in sub-Saharan Africa

contrast with the vast amount of natural

gas reserves found onshore and offshore

from Senegal to Mozambique and whose

development could lift millions out of

poverty and provide the resource the

continent needs to industrialize.

It notably reveals that the growth of Africa's

natural gas consumption and production is

set to be one of the world's fastest until

2040 on the back of new LNG projects and

strong policy support for natural gas

consumption across industries, transport,

and power. It showcases true success

stories in domestic gas monetization in

Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Tanzania, and

reveals the true diversity of African gas

experiences with associated and nonassociated

gas, LNG, LPG, methane, coalbed

methane, helium and hydrogen.

ACTING forecasted a 55% growth in gridconnected

gas-to-power generation by

2025 on the back of greenfield and

brownfield projects and the conversation of

coal and diesel power plants to gas in

Senegal and South Africa.

West Africa is the region expected to see

the biggest gas-to-power capacity addition

by 2025, with at least 750 MW in Senegal,

643 MW in Côte d'Ivoire, 450 MW in

Nigeria, 200 MW in Ghana, 150 MW in

Benin and 65 MW in Togo.

The Secretary-General of the Organisation

of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),

Mohammad Barkindo has said that Africa

will continue to be an integral and important

player in the oil and gas industry’s efforts to

meet the global rising energy needs.

He said:

“Africa will continue to be

an integral and essential

player in the oil and gas

industry’s long-term

efforts to meet the rising

energy needs of the

world’s rapidly growing

population.

“As energy stakeholders,” he said, “We must

continue to dialogue and collaborate at all

levels to achieve our common goals.

“In this regard, I invite all of our fellow

African energy producers to join with us as

we will only get stronger with the enhanced

support and cooperation of our continental

partners.”

According to Barkindo, OPEC has a long

history of prioritizing cooperation through

dialogues with several oil-producing and

consuming countries, as well as with

international organizations and global

corporations.

Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo

Challenges

Despite positive developments in Africa's oil

& gas industry, especially in discoveries, the

industry still faces numerous and persistent

challenges around talent shortages on local

content development, regulatory

uncertainty, political instability, corruption

and fraud, and a lack of infrastructure.

According to the report, intra-African trade

stands at 15 per cent, which is meagre when

compared to Asia's 58 per cent and Europe's

67 per cent. High tariffs and colonial-era

infrastructure make it easier for African

countries to export to Europe or the United

States than to one another. Also, the

overlapping membership in Africa's eight

Regional Economic Communities (RECs)

hampers trade standardization and

enforcement.

Notwithstanding the challenges, Africa does

offer plenty of opportunities in the form of

unexplored hydrocarbon demand fueled by

population growth, urbanization, and the

emergence of a growing middle class.

On this note, experts have raised critical

issues, calling on government, stakeholders,

and players to come together to develop a

roadmap for regional integration and

insulate the continent from the current

market situation and harness its energy

resources beyond oil.

However, experts have suggested for the

development of a regional master plan that

will serve as a template for government and

industry players to advance the regional

integration for the African continent.

The Director of Monitoring and Evaluation,

Nigerian Content Development and

Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Tunde

Adelana said that regional integration

should be embraced as a survival strategy

for Africa post-COVID-19.

Adelana stated this during a Webinar hosted

by Majorwaves Energy Report, with the

theme; "Optimising Local Content through

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Regional Integration in a post-COVID-19

Africa" in June 2020. He noted that Africa is

a very rich continent and has a lot of mineral

resources in every nook and cranny, adding

that research should be encouraged in the

continent to develop these local resources.

He further explained that

“

Africa's oil-producing

countries can develop

their technological

capacities and

capabilities by learning

from Nigeria through

collaboration.”

He said, "Africa is a very rich continent and

we have a lot of mineral resources

everywhere. We need to look back and do

some more research into our local

resources, to see how they can be utilized

to support, not just the oil and gas sector,

but the entire economy at large.

“Nigeria has abundant skills. We have

abundant capabilities and competencies,

given the length of time, we have been in

this industry (60 years). Our achievements

speak for themselves. And for the rest of

Africa, there is a lot you can learn from

Nigerians.”

At the 2021 SAIPEC African Content

Series, Engr. Simbi Wabote, Executive

S e c r e t a r y o f N i g e r i a n C o n t e n t

Development & Monitoring Board

(NCDMB), said African countries should

collaborate and share best practices on

local content implementation and capacity

building.

"In all my years of practising local content,

African countries do not know what they

have in their country. They always look

outside the fence. But, I have seen that the

capacity in-country is unbelievable.

"Africa is a great continent with enormous

potentials and is currently going through a

transformation process in many areas.

“

People don't trust the

transformation going

on in Africa but they

always look outside

the fence.”

“The discovery of hydrocarbon in many

African countries has increased the

penetration of telecommunication,

technology, population growth, and

creating awareness on homegrown

solutions," Wabote said.

As part of its commitment to deepening

local content practise in Africa, the Nigerian

Content Development and Monitoring

Board (NCDMB) in partnership with the

African Petroleum Producers Organization

APPO, recently hosted the maiden edition

of the African Local Content Roundtable, a

Pan-African engagement of critical

stakeholders in the African oil and gas

industry to institutionalise a peer review

mechanism on local content as a key

d e v e l o p m e n t i m p e r a t i v e f o r t h e

domestication and sustainable growth of

Africa’s hydrocarbon resources in

Yeneagoa, Bayelsa State.

The roundtable, focused on the evaluation

of regulatory models for the governance,

funding and monitoring of Local Content

implementation in frontline economies,

laying a solid foundation for the design of an

African Local Content programme to

maximise economic benefits from the

implementation of the African Continental

Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in the

hydrocarbon value chain and data sharing

on capacities that exist around skills,

infrastructure, facilities, assets and funding

for exploration, field development and

production activities in Africa.

Engr Simbi Wabote

In his words, NCDMB's Executive Secretary

outlined five key parameters needed for

sustainable local content practice in Africa's

oil and gas industry. The key parameters

include Regulatory Framework; Gap

Analysis, Capacity Building, Funding &

Incentives, Research & Development.

"For any successful local content practice,

an enabling regulatory framework backed

by proper legislation is very fundamental in

local content practise.

"In Nigeria, we have the NOGICD Act 2010.

It is no longer optional to comply with local

content requirements. The NOGICD Act of

2010 establishes NCDMB as the sole

agency of the Federal Government that is

responsible for driving Nigerian Content in


One of the provisions on the NOGICD Act,

according to him, is that first considerations

will be given to Nigerian companies in the

award of blocks & licenses, Nigerian goods

and services, employment & training of

Nigerians.

He described how Nigeria has deployed

these parameters in the oil and gas sector

which had led to several achievements in

the country's oil and gas industry.

Addressing energy infrastructure deficiency

in Africa, Nigeria's former Minister of State

for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe

Kachikwu, led the discussion on the issues at

the Angola Oil & Gas Technology Virtual

Conference 2020, noting that there is a

depth of infrastructural challenges in

Africa's energy industry.

Kachikwu advocates for the establishment

of a Pan – African Infrastructure Scheme

across the continent, which will serve as a

mechanism of securing investment within

the African market.

According to a report, Africa requires up to

$10 to $15 billion investment to develop its

infrastructure in the energy sector.

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Kachikwu explained, "Every country

doesn't need to have a refinery but if we

have a couple of big ones around, then, we

can take over the downstream sector. The

importation from western countries will

end. The biggest producers in Africa are

Nigeria, Angola, Egypt, among others. They

need to come together to see what they can

do for the African continent.

"There is also a need for more private sector

collaboration. A lot of efforts are still led by

the government which is good and

understandable due to the share size of the

government. But the private sector is key.

They need to collaborate and take major

investment decisions.

"I would urge that as we begin to look at

new mineral licenses and bid rounds, we

also need to zero-in our African businesses

including the government to externalize the

investment. African government must put

as much importance on current resource

development to plan for the future.

"For example, I would like to see Nigeria just

signed an agreement with Niger over the

refinery. Dangote refinery is making

headway in Nigeria. But we would like to

see a couple of other ones within the

African continent so that we can take over

the downstream sector.

"I am very impressed to see that APPO is

working with Afreximbank to raise billion

dollars of investment for the oil sector. But

we need a whole lot of that."

Speaking further, Kachikwu also advocated

for new fiscal policies to harmonize the

investment climate in Africa's upstream

sector.

He stressed that the COVID-19 has taught

the industry a lesson in such a way that the

fiscal that is taken for granted in the oil

sector has deep. And most oil-producing

countries are beginning to reduce

production to stabilize the market and this

is good for the short term. But in the longterm,

there should be an alternative option

whenever the oil prices are down.

In his words, "We need to begin to diversify

away from the immediate fiscal regime of

the upstream. We need to begin to look at

other investment in quartile related sector

just like what Saudi Arabia is doing.

“I would like to see a

fiscal conference

soon that brings the

biggest players in

the sector.

“Hopefully led by groups such as

Afreximbank to look at what are the fastest

Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu

potentials sources of funding major projects

within the African continent in the energy

sector. I would like to see a solution

conference.

"We need to look at regulations. Most of our

regulations in Africa are based on

protectionism and expansion. That was

good when the oil demand was limitless. But

the reality is that in the next 25 years the oil

demand will deep, and clean energy will take

over and unless there is an alternative to this

oil through investment and extraction, we

will continue to sit with our oil in our hands.

"We need to create regulations to boost

local content. Nigeria and Angola have done

well on that aspect, but we need to see other

African countries do a whole lot more by

sharing ideas.

"We need to move regulations from

protectionism to the new vista which is

liberal incentives. We need to create a

liberal incentive for investment. Africa

needs to be a prime market.

"The Arab world and the Asian market have

moved very fast and professionally to set up

regulatory frameworks that will position its

oil industry for sustainable development in

the next 20 years.

"We need to create a value chain in the

African market so that the future will be

bright for all of us."

The Role of AfCFTA

The African Continental Free Trade Area

(AfCFTA), which its implementation kicked

off on January 1, 2021, is a free trade

agreement among 54 of the 55 African

Union nations. AfCFTA is the largest in the

world in terms of participating countries

since the formation of the World Trade

Organization.

The agreement creates a market of 1.3

billion people across 55 countries with a

combined gross domestic product (GDP)

valued at US$3.4 trillion. According to the

World Bank, "It has the potential to lift 30

million people out of extreme poverty but

achieving its full potential will depend on

putting in place significant policy reforms

and trade facilitation measures.”

The agreement was brokered by the African

Union (AU) and was signed on by 44 of its 55

member states in Kigali, Rwanda on March

21, 2018. The United Nations Economic

Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates

that the agreement will boost intra-African

trade by 52 per cent by 2022.

"Since the conclusion of the AfCFTA

Agreement in March 2018, AU member

States have continued to show interest in

this continental project. To date, the

Agreement has been signed by 54 out of 55

member States. The proposal was set to

come into force after ratification by 22 of

the signatory states," a statement on the

AfCFTA website stated.

Under the agreement, participating

countries are expected to reduce tariffs by

90 per cent. But there are challenges to

ensure smooth implementation of this

framework.

Some of these challenges that need to be

addressed revolve around the issue of rules

of origin, local content laws of participating

countries and cross-border infrastructure.

However, the African Development Bank

(ADB) has created a regional integration

strategy for periods up to 2025 to address

the infrastructural challenge.

The ADB plans to provide funds for the

construction of 9000km cross-border

transmission lines, the construction or

rehabilitation of about 16,400km of crossborder

roads, the support of rail lines and

transport corridors construction, the

increase of transport links wherever

possible and use investments in

infrastructure as a way of creating market

linkages.

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Experts have also said that the African

Continental Free Trade Agreement

(AfCFTA) will play a key role towards

regional integration, but it will face some

challenges if the local content laws of

participating countries were not

harmonized. They added: "Nigeria for

example, has competent oil services firms

but finds it difficult operating in fellow

African countries because of local content

laws."

However, the adoption of AfCFTA by

African leaders is positive developments

that demonstrate that governments are

reacting to the new realities.

Development Strategies for Gas

Utilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) in its

2020 outlook on Africa, stated that the

gigantic discoveries made over the past

decade in Mozambique, Tanzania, Senegal,

and Mauritania have revealed a total of 200

trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas reserves,

enough to supply two-thirds of current

world demand for 20 years.

According to the report, before the

pandemic, capital expenditure in African oil

and gas was set to hit $90 billion in

2020/21. As companies race to cut costs

and major projects are delayed, that

number has fallen to $60 billion. The

COVID-19 pandemic shattered domestic

and external energy markets, prices

tumbled, and the industry experienced an

unprecedented downturn.

In its 2021 outlook on the future of the

African oil and gas industry, The African

Energy Chamber, alongside a team of

expert analysts, outlined workable

solutions that could steer the industry back

on track. Regulatory reforms, reduced gas

flaring, and more favourable fiscal regimes

are among its key recommendations.

"Oil and gas activities have undoubtedly

taken a hit in 2020, but the outlook for

African projects, fiscal regimes, and

investors remain optimistic. Africa's energy

potential is enormous and remains largely

untapped. The world still needs oil and gas.

As we look to the global recovery, we see

significant opportunities for new

development, which are detailed in-depth

in our 2021 outlook," said NJ Ayuk,

Executive Chairman of the African Energy

Chamber.

The report provides detailed information in

areas of critical importance and includes

chapters examining jobs and employment,

cash flow and profit forecasts, the

expenditure and investment outlook,

carbon emissions, oil and gas market

projections, and regional production.

Pressing issues including OPEC production

cuts, regulatory reforms, COVID-19

impacts by region and country, and offshore

drilling demand across multiple continental

shelves are analyzed in detail.

In 2018, sub-Saharan Africa provided 10 per

cent of the global production of liquefied

natural gas (LNG), equivalent to 28 million

tonnes per year (mtpy). Analyst Akap Energy

forecasts that by 2025 this African

production capacity will have increased by

150 per cent to reach 84 mtpy, which is 15

to 20 per cent of the world market. Also, in

2018, Nigeria's production accounted for 7

per cent of globally traded LNG and ranks

the country among the world's top five LNG

exporters behind Qatar, Australia, Malaysia

and the US.

In another report published by the Oil & Gas

Journal (OGJ), it estimates that as of January

1, 2020, Angola holds an estimated 13.5

trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas

reserves, down from 14.9 Tcf estimated in

2019.

Angola produces small quantities of

marketed natural gas, but most of its

production is flared as a by-product of oil

operations or is reinjected into oil fields to

increase oil recovery. Dry natural gas

production in Angola was 218 billion cubic

feet (Bcf) in 2018.

In 2019, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports

increased to 204 Bcf, and the East Asia and

Pacific region received most of Angola's

exports, according to the United States

Energy Information Administration (EIA).

India received 131 Bcf or about 65 per cent

of Angola's total exports for that year. Other

significant importers of Angola's LNG in

2019 were Spain (10 Bcf) and France (13

Bcf). The Angola LNG project began

operation in 2013 but was taken offline in

2014 as a result of technical difficulties that

required extensive repair and did not

resume operations until 2016.

Also, as of June 2020, Nigeria's proven gas

reserves stood at 203.16TcF, according to

the Director, Department of Petroleum

Resources (DPR). This represents a marginal

increase of 1.16tcf in proven natural gas

Mr Osagie Okunbor

reserves representing a 0.57 per cent

increase from the previous 202tcf recorded

on Jan. 1, 2019. The regulatory agency has

set new targets of 210tcf by 2025 and

220tcf by 2030.

Despite these huge gas reserves in Sub-

Saharan Africa, domestic utilization is not

encouraging. Although some oil and gas

producing countries in the region are

making efforts to increase domestic

consumption of gas, like Nigeria, through

the National Gas Expansion Program

(NGEP), and the Decade of Gas initiative

launched recently by President Buhari.

Going forward, Managing Director and

Country Chairman of Shell Companies in

Nigeria, Mr Osagie Okunbor, said: "To make

domestic gas work, we need a right price

regime. It might just mean that some sectors

are supported more than others that can

naturally carry themselves. The Petroleum

Industry Bill provides that framework.

“A robust pricing

framework would be

very helpful to unlock

Nigeria's proven gas

reserves.

“Especially for Power, Agriculture and

Industrial sectors."

Okunbor said the current pricing regime

does not quite fit the wider framework of

what the gas industry does.

"We want to incentivize methanol and

fertilizer production, which is extremely

important, to gear up our agricultural sector

but the price regime now in that sector is

lower than the kind of prices that you have

for supply to the Power sector and industrial

establishments", he said.

He advocated for robust engagement in

discussions for an agreeable price

framework to attract investments in the

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country's rich gas sector.

He urged policymakers to strike a careful

balance between trying to raise funds – in

terms of the kind of taxes and royalties that

are put on gas – and understanding that this

is much more of a resource that drives

national development.

“Gas is by far more important as a catalyst

for development, he said."

With over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas

proven, the world's 9th largest proven gas

reserves, Osagie said Nigeria can satisfy

both domestic and export markets of gas if

the right policies and processes are put in

place and the country continues to drive

those policies, processes, and gas

infrastructure.

Apart from the fact that it will help the

region to harness its hydrocarbon

resources, it will also create a big market for

supply, insulating the region to a large

extent, from global volatility in the oil

market and reposition it for the energy

transition.

Speaking further, Managing Director, Shell

Nigeria Gas Limited, and President of the

Nigeria Gas Association (NGA), Ed Ubong,

has said that the abundant gas resources in

Nigeria can meet the energy demand of

over 350 million people and the industrial

needs in the West African sub-region.

According to him, "Nigeria, which ranks as

the 9th largest gas reserve in the world and

the largest in West Africa, therefore needs

to develop this resource base and connect

the existing local supply and demand with

physical and virtual pipeline infrastructure,

while also exploring closer integration of

roads, seaports and rail infrastructure."

"The regulatory framework is a key

determinant of the success of the gas

industry. So, the NGA will continue to work

with the government and regulators to

ensure the right laws are in place to create

an enabling environment for the sector to

thrive over the next decade. Time is of the

essence as the Energy transition is on.

“If we want to unlock

the huge gas potentials

in Sub-Saharan Africa,

It will require a much

closer partnership

between the

government and gas

companies.”

“We need companies that can innovate with

the capacity to deliver major projects. We

also require companies that are committed

to Africa for the long-term, invest in

infrastructure and grow the market.

"All of these will happen by a stable

regulatory framework that assures investors

their ROI is sacrosanct.

"Gas can change lives, empower

communities, create jobs but we need to be

clear around the pricing framework to

enable the Nigerian gas industry to move

forward.

"As the President of the Nigerian Gas

Association, our position is that the ideal

framework is that of the Willing Buyer and

Willing Seller on a purely commercialised

position where the market determines the

price.

"We will continue to work with the

government on how we can get to that stage

as soon as possible even if there are

intermediary steps.

"There is a need to put in place the right

interconnective infrastructure that will get

gas not only within Nigeria but to the West

African sub-region.

"We also need gas regulation that addresses

safety. We talk about how gas can change

the economy but it also comes with risk.

"We can't do these without putting in place

the right safety regulation that will ensure

the use of gas is safe and the investment is

protected from explosion due to high

pressure of gas moving from one area to

another," he noted.

Speaking on his vision for NGA, Ubong said

the association would continue to promote

the utilization of natural gas as the preferred

energy source in Nigeria for the benefit of

the nation and the various stakeholders in

the Nigerian gas value chain. These include

upstream gas producers, transporters, gasbased

industries, power generation and

distribution companies, virtual pipeline

operators, LPG market players, industrial

and manufacturing customers and the

energy professionals who provide critical

support for the sector.

He described the 2020 council of the NGA

as the first council in Nigeria's decade of gas

and pledged the commitment of NGA under

his leadership to work closely with all

stakeholders to accelerate gas development

and domestic gas utilization over the next

10 years, in line with the gas ambition of the

Federal Government.

Ubong restated that Shell's investments in

the Assa North Gas Project; four unitized

gas fields; Brass Fertilizer Company; and the

cluster development of Okpokunou/Tuomo

West gas project, multiple NLNG trains, was

aimed at supporting the government's drive

for national development and energy

sufficiency.

Similarly, according to the EIA, Equatorial

Guinea held 1.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of

proved natural gas reserves as of January

2017 and is a net exporter of natural gas.

Dry natural gas production has increased

rapidly, from 0.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in

2001 to 219 Bcf in 2016.

Domestic consumption has increased at a

much slower pace, from 1 Bcf in 2001 to a

peak of 57 Bcf in 2011 before declining to

42 Bcf in 2016.

"In 2016, Equatorial Guinea exported 152

Bcf of LNG, with most going to Asia-Pacific

(88 Bcf) and the Middle East (42 Bcf),

according to BP's 2017 Statistical Review of

World Energy.

“India was the primary destination for

liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Equatorial

Guinea in 2016 and received 49 Bcf," EIA

said.

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Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, the Deputy Managing

Director of Falcon Corporation Limited,

said that Africa is a continent of a billion

people and ranked as the 5th continent in

the global population but yet it is currently

in a situation of about 43% of Sub-Saharan

Africa do not have access to electricity. This

is a huge problem despite Africa is ranked as

the youngest growing population.

According to a report, Africa will exceed

China as one of the most populous nations

in the world in the coming years.

She said: "There has been a lot of

conversation going on around how energy

will enhance the quality of life on the

continent.

“

There is no Energy

Transition for Africa

without Gas. It is a

resources that we need

to leverage.

"Gas is the core fuel that will transform

Africa but we need to develop a regional

collaboration to address specific challenges

in-country.

"There are many challenges such as

infrastructure that is needed to be dealt

with. On the point of view to enabling the

e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l c a p a c i t y a n d

industrialisation potential of the continent,

we need to be looking at LNG where we can

move those kinds of big molecules - a large

number of volumes to power projects that

are much needed on the continent.

"I believe that coming out of the pandemic

and the impacts on the global economy,

global LNG trade will continue to grow and

a core part of the growth will be coming

from Africa.

"As we are looking at the export market, it is

also important that each country in Sub-

Saharan Africa should focus on

domesticating production, consumption,

and utilization."

Taking an overview of the African LNG

trade outlook, African LNG export will

continue to grow further in 2021 despite

the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on

gas production and demand in 2020,

according to Gas Exporting Countries

Forum (GECF) analysis.

In her presentation at SAIPEC 2021, Ms

Mahdjouba Belaifa, GECF's Gas Market

Analysis Department Head, said Africa

accounts for 11% of global LNG exports

and its LNG exports have increased by

more than five million tonnes in the last five

years.

"Despite the decline of LNG exports in

2020, LNG export from Africa will grow in

2021 based on the current development in


"Africa's GDP is expected to rebound to

3.4% in 2021, and 4% in 2022. While Gas

production will start to recover in 2021 and

will continue to grow further by 2022.

“

GECF sees a bright

future from LNG

exports from Africa to

meet the growing

energy demand.

“We are supporting Africa's LNG industry

through gas supplies from its member

countries.

"While the LNG price tag continues trending

in the first quarter of 2021, the NEA LNG

prices recorded a daily high of almost $40

MMBU. In February, it reached a record high

of almost $24 of MMBU.

"Between 2021 and 2023, around 200 Mtpa

of LNG projects are targeting FID with

around 23 Mtpa in Africa.

"GECF's outlook highlights that 26 Mtpa of

new LNG capacity is expected to be

commissioned in Africa between 2021 and

2027 which represents 17% of the global

capacity addition during this period.

"Though the Inter-regional pipeline gas

trade is still relatively small in Africa with

only two Sub-Saharan countries - South

Africa and Ghana importing pipeline gas

from their neighbours.

"Besides, two North African countries -

Tunisia and Morroco import pipeline gas.

While Algeria accounts for about 80% of

regional gas pipeline export.

“Africa is wellpositioned

to supply

the emerging market.

The continent is an

attractive destination

for LNG business as

Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory

Coast, Morocco,

Namibia, South Africa

are potential markets.

"Africa has great potential for natural gas

and renewable energy sources. Its

economies are growing fast and there is a

cordial relationship going on between Africa

and the global community," she concluded.

Gas is the energy of the future. Sub-Saharan

Africa and indeed the African continent,

have huge gas reserves.

Harnessing these huge reserves will help

the region to a large extent, in addressing

the issue around access to energy, poverty

eradication, unemployment and building

stronger economies.

68


Gas Expor ng

Countries Forum

Member Countries

Observers

“GECF Coopera on with African countries to use gas as the core

source of energy... with the aim to overcome energy poverty, enhance

development and to mi gate Co2 emissions,” - Declara on of Malobo at

5th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government in

Equatorial Guinea (November 2019).

“Inves ng in cleaner energy such as natural gas would increase

na onal GDPs, jobs and create prosperity in Africa” - HE

Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General, GECF at Nigeria Decade of

Gas Conference (March 2021)

“GECF is really a beacon of hope and light.” - HE Nair Bedoulle,

Assistant Director-General for Natural Science, UNESCO

Signing of MoU between UNESCO and GECF (December 2020).

“Thank you for bringing the natural gas agenda to Africa” -

Mr N.J. Ajuk, Execu ve Chairman, African Energy Chamber at

3rd GECF Annual Workshop on Promo on of Natural Gas

Demand (July 2020).

INTERVIEW

His Excellency Yury Sentyurin is the Chief

Officer in the Secretariat and is the legally

authorized representative of the Forum. In

this capacity, he has the authority to carry out

the executive functions of the Forum in

accordance with the directions of the

Executive Board and the GECF Statute and is

liable and accountable to both the Executive

Board and the Ministerial Meeting.

He is the third Secretary-General of the Gas

Exporting Countries Forum and was

appointed in this position at the 19th

Ministerial Meeting in Moscow, Russia.

Yury Sentyurin is a diplomat with extensive

government experience. He graduated from

the Institute of Foreign Languages, Russian

Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of

Foreign Economic Relations and Trade,

speciality – World Economy, and from the

Russian Academy of State Service under the

President of the Russian Federation on the

speciality Lawyer.

He has held various high-level positions in

the Russian Government, including Director

of the Department of Transport Fund for the

Development of Russia, Head of Department

for Regulation of Natural Monopolies on

Transport of Map, Minister of Industry and

Innovations, Government of Nizhny

Novgorod Region and 1st Vice-Governor of

Nizhny Novgorod Region.

He was also Deputy Chairman of the State

Duma Standing Committee for Energy,

Transport and Communications as well as

Deputy Minister of Education and Science,

and State Secretary and Deputy Minister of

Energy.

He is fluent in English, French and Persian.

Excerpts:

"Africa dominates the GECF agenda for

several important reasons" - Sentyurin

The Secretary General of Gas Expor ng Countries Forum (GECF),

His Excellency Yury Sentyurin, talks to Oil and Gas Republic about

GECF's agenda for Africa which is focused on natural gas

u lisa on to overcome energy poverty, enhance development

and to mi gate CO2 emissions in the African con nent.

Interview by Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

OGR: You have been ranked among the top

25 most influential leaders in the African

energy sector. How would you describe this

a c h i e v e m e n t ; a n d r e n e w i n g y o u r

commitment to making sure Africa stays on

top of the global energy development?

Sentyurin: Africa dominates the GECF

agenda for several important reasons. At

least six (6) out of our 19 member countries

represent this vast continent, accounting for

more than 90% of Africa’s proven natural gas

reserves. Since 2018, during my tenure, the

Forum has welcomed the Republic of Angola

as a newly-joined member. Together, they

reflect the pulse of Africa at the Forum and

influence our focus that Africa rightfully

deserves.

71


GECF INTERVIEW

This spirit was on display at the 5th GECF

Summit of Heads of State and Government

in Equatorial Guinea in November 2019 – a

first-of-its-kind event in Africa – where the

GECF’s highest leadership reiterated the

crucial role of natural gas in Africa’s uplift

and resolved their common determination

to “promote the GECF cooperation with

African countries to use gas as the core

source of energy in their development

programmes and climate change policies, to

overcome energy poverty, enhance

development and to mitigate CO2

emissions”.

That same year, Africa gained a new

elevation in the world of energy at the

Russia-Africa Summit, held in October 2019

in Sochi, Russia, and co-hosted by Russian

President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with the

attendance of 43 heads of state or

government. At this landmark event, much

emphasis was laid on the sovereign rights of

countries to harness their natural resources,

such as natural gas, for the advancement of

their societies. After all, Africa is bestowed

with a rich array of minerals and the people

of the continent must have an equal shot at

social and personal prosperity.

Yet, as the world is progressing to increase

energy access and fulfil the UN Sustainable

Development Goal (SDG) #7, to ensure

access to affordable, reliable, sustainable

and modern energy for all, there is still an

estimated 548 million people in sub-Saharan

Africa, or 53% of the population without

access to electricity, according to the United

Nations. Further, nearly 789 million Africans

currently have no access to clean cooking.

In my participation at the recently-held ‘The

Decade of Gas’ Conference (29 March),

where I joined Nigeria’s President and the

State Minister for Petroleum Resources HE

Muhammadu Buhari and HE Timpire Sylva,

along with global energy leaders, I had

emphasised that these communities deserve

access to affordable, reliable, and

sustainable modern energy, such as natural

gas, to become part of the global movement

to eradicate energy poverty.

To mobilise its members’ strength to meet

this most urgent issue facing Africa, last

December the GECF entered into an MoU

with UNESCO with the singular goal of

researching and developing technologies

and mechanisms that will enable Africa to

unlock its energy potential, while

safeguarding the global environmental

ambitions.

Working from our Secretariat in Doha,

Qatar, we are also working directly with

representatives of several countries from

Africa. The GECF regularly engages with

ambassadors and members of

diplomatic missions from Africa, who

represent around 20 countries from the

African continent. The Forum has also

hosted an ‘African Ambassadors Group’

– a day-long conference dedicated to

energy in Africa.

This enthusiasm and belief in Africa’s

energy potential are not unfounded or

without merit. Projections from the

latest available iteration of the GECF’s

Global Gas Outlook 2050 show that

Africa will witness the highest growth

rate of natural gas among all regions of

the world, at nearly 150% up to 2050.

Countries such as Senegal and

Mauritania in Africa stand on the

precipice of the league of gas exporters

in the short term, while Mozambique

and Tanzania are expected to become

natural gas exporters in the long term.

In the short term too, the GECF’s first

Annual Short-Term Gas Market Report

(2020) shows, Africa boasts several

promising growth factors, such as in the

area of power generation, in transport

through natural gas vehicles (NGVs),

and investments.

The GECF is working to foster stronger

partnerships with other Africa-based

organisations such as AFREC, APPO,

and the Africa Energy Chamber (AEC).

To give you an idea of the pace of

development in the gas industry in

Africa, Mozambique alone took FID on

3.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in

2017 followed by a further 13 mtpa in

2019. The first project is expected to be

commissioned in 2022, and the second

one will enable LNG flows

Chief Timipre Sylva

His Excellency Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General of Gas

Exporting Countries Forum (GECF),

from Mozambique to the world by 2024-

25.

Additionally, there are more than 74

million mt/year of LNG export capacity to

be approved in the Sub Saharan region by

2030, provided that all the conditions are

met if we view it in the context of the

African Coalition for Trade and

Investment in Natural Gas.

At the same time, new market players are

rising with the discovery of huge gas

reserves in Tanzania, Gabon, Mauritania,

Congo, Senegal, and Cameroon that are

likely to support an ambitious gas masterplan

for domestic consumption as well as

LNG exports.

I believe our multi-faceted efforts are

bearing fruit and this was evidenced at the

last GECF Ministerial Meeting, held in

November 2020. The 22nd GECF

Ministerial Meeting was hosted (virtually)

b y A l g e r i a a n d w e l c o m e d t h e

participation of ministers and top

authorities from several guest African

countries who delivered their key

messages on the energy sector and gas

market in particular, including from

Mozambique, Tanzania, Tunisia, and

Senegal.

OGR: GECF and UNESCO have signed an

MOU on climate change. What is GECF

planning for Africa?

Sentyurin: The GECF serves as a platform

for the science-policy interface,

underpinning the importance of the

exchange of scientific knowledge,

experience, and dissemination of

information through research and

72


GECF INTERVIEW

production of global outlooks and statistical

bulletins.

Our partnership with UNESCO therefore

will further harness the potential of science

and technological cooperation to address

global challenges – particularly in Africa –

through advocacy and awareness-raising at

all levels of society and economic sectors

towards achieving the sustainable goals of

the 2030 Agenda and beyond.

The agreement with UNESCO embodies the

accomplishment of a 2-year-long work

committed to by both entities, and is a

tangible step towards the formalisation of an

existing relationship, strengthening the

capacities of Member States in achieving the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

expanding competencies, technical support,

and shared expertise. It is intended to

materialise in the thematic focus areas of:

• Addressing climate change;

• Promoting state-of-the-art research,

lifelong education and advanced skills that

are required for long and productive careers

in engineering and science;

• Maintaining a conducive environment of

scientific inquiry in the field of natural

sciences;

• Contributing to the positive development

around the world, in particular in the Africa

region;

• Protection of biodiversity and

safeguarding natural heritage;

• Facilitating the Rigs-to-Reef approach to

protect and restore ocean ecosystems.

As I mentioned earlier, Africa makes a great

contribution to the global gas market.

Countries in Africa account for 8% of global

gas reserves, 6% of global marketed

production and 7% of global gas exports.

However, they account only for 4% of global

gas consumption.

An increase in gas consumption could

trigger economic growth in Africa, facilitate

the social development of African countries,

and help achieve the UN SDGs. Importantly,

the gas industry’s development will mitigate

energy poverty, create new jobs, and

improve living standards in the region. For

instance, millions of people in African

countries could get access to electricity and

clean cooking fuels thanks to natural gas.

Natural gas can power new industries, such

as power generation, petrochemical

industry, and fertiliser production.

OGR: As the Secretary-General of the Gas

Exporting Countries Forum, how would you

evaluate GECF's member countries

contribution towards the global pursuit of

net-zero emissions and attainment of the

2030 Sustainable Development Goals

(SDG)?

Sentyurin: The GECF recognises that

climate change is occurring and that human

Yury Sentyurin

activity contributes to GHG emissions.

Our Member Countries are addressing

this issue head-on. As an example, one

of our key Member Country, Russia,

formalised its inclusion in the Paris

Agreement in October 2019, becoming

a full-fledged participant of this

landmark international instrument.

Russia then continued this momentum

and released, in 2020, its long-term

strategy climate plan aimed at reducing

emissions by 33% by 2030.

Other members, such as Qatar for

instance, have announced plans to

reduce emissions from the use of its

products in the transport segment.

Another member country, Egypt, has

outright banned the issuance of new

vehicle licences unless cars are fitted

with much cleaner natural gas fuel

systems.

The GECF leaders reiterate this

commitment regularly. At the recentlyheld

Leaders Summit on Climate (22-23

April), Russian President Putin, for

instance, urged all interested countries

to take part in joint research and climate

projects to create low-carbon

technologies that mitigate climate

change.

“Global development should not just be

green but also sustainable in the full

meaning of the word – and for all

countries without exception. And

consequently, it should be closely

connected with progress in such highpriority

areas as efforts against poverty

and closing development gaps,”

President Putin said.

It is well known that natural gas is one

of the global enablers for reducing

emissions quickly, cost-effectively and

steadfastly by replacing carbonintensive

fuels as well as backing up

intermittent renewables.

Particularly, in the aftermath of the

COVID-19 pandemic, the world will

need to cooperate to fight against the

existing energy poverty challenges as

hundreds of millions of people still do not

have access to clean energy. At least two

billion people require access to affordable

energy by 2050.

Our collective efforts have to accelerate

the development of all sources of clean

fuels to ensure energy access for all so

that progress can be achieved without

leaving anyone behind.

Here, I’d like to send a clear message that

it is too early to write off hydrocarbons.

They will remain the dominating source in

the global energy mix for the foreseeable

future. Our latest projections in the GECF

Global Gas Outlook 2050 (launched in

February 2021) show that natural gas will

be the only hydrocarbon resource to

increase its share from 23% today to 28%

in 2050.

According to this current edition of the

Outlook, one of the most sensible,

economically viable way to achieve

sustained energy market stability,

inclusive economic growth, and

sustainable development goals, is to

consider natural gas as a destination fuel.

This will be an essential element in

achieving a lower-carbon energy system.

Governments are the key drivers of the

policy shifts in this regard and can play an

important role, e.g., phasing out coal and

supporting gas infrastructure. The GECF

holds the belief that natural gas will

continue to receive favourable policy

support in the European Union amidst

trends to substantially reduce coal and

nuclear fuels. Just this month, the

European Commission classified natural

gas as ‘sustainable’ in its first “green

taxonomy” list of energy sources.

In the context of shipping, a new emission

standard on 0.5% sulphur limit,

implemented by the International

Maritime Organisation (IMO), will give

fresh impetus to LNG bunker demand to

shift from heavy fuel oil.

Based on the fact that natural gas is the

most environmentally friendly fossil fuel,

the GECF has launched an Environmental

Knowledge and Solutions initiative, to

share best practices, acquire new

knowledge, and bring innovative

solutions to meet the environmental

challenges of today and tomorrow.

Another area we are advocating is in the

financing of projects. It is of paramount

importance to secure adequate

investment into the natural gas industry,

especially due to the intentions of banks

and financial institutions to discontinue

financing fossil fuel projects, including

natural gas ones.

73


GECF INTERVIEW

Furthermore, the recently established GECF

Gas Research Institute is set to become an

important cog in our environmental machine

as it expedites developing technical

knowledge and innovative technologies.

This institute is a foremost instrument to

encourage the development of technologies

that reduce GHGs emissions.

OGR: What is your opinion on the role of

natural gas in the energy transition?

Sentyurin: There is no single pathway

defining energy transitions, as the

respective capabilities and resources of

individual nations will continue to define

their response to climate change towards

the energy transition. We forecast that

natural gas will continue to play a growing

role in the long-term global energy demand.

According to the latest edition of the GECF

Global Gas Outlook 2050 (February 2021),

natural gas demand is projected to rise by

50% from 3,950 billion cubic metres (bcm) in

2019 to 5,920 bcm in 2050.

Natural gas will overtake coal in 2025 and

become the largest global primary energy

source by the mid-2040s. Gas and

renewable energy sources altogether will be

the major contributors to incremental

growth in global energy demand. These two

energy sources will provide almost 60% of

the world’s electricity need by 2050.

However, I should mention that although

the cost of renewable energies is declining,

renewables still face major obstacles,

including, but not limited to, high capital

costs that cannot compete with cheap and

abundant gas, intermittency and variability,

transmission infrastructure, as well as the

lack of storage capacity.

In this context, natural gas exhibits

complementary characteristics to cater for

the above-mentioned drawbacks of

renewables, mainly a foreseeable

production profile that helps renewable

sources as a reliable backup in the energy

transition.

Given its environmental, technical,

economic, and social advantages, natural gas

remains a viable choice for sustainable

development.

This adds to other benefits, including energy

performance of gas-based technologies, as

well as the development of LNG

technologies, such as the small-scale LNG,

and floating storage and regasification unit

that translates into lower costs and risks

typically associated with onshore LNG

developments. Thus, for instance, LNG

suppliers can respond quickly to the demand

of any country that has domestic assess to

the global seas.

Furthermore, natural gas coupled with

carbon capture, utilisation, and storage

(CCUS) allows for its decarbonisation

and strengthen its environmental

credentials over the long term and

towards the energy transition period.

Another area of consideration is the

blue hydrogen and enriched natural

gas, which is a blend of natural gas with

hydrogen.

All these attributes place natural gas in

a position to increase its penetration as

a destination fuel and make it a vector

of the energy transition.

OGR: What are your global

perspective on the future of natural

gas?

Sentyurin: During 2020, the

unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic

posed a dramatic challenge to the world

and its nations with severe implications

for global economic activity. Our

forecasts – embodied in the GECF

Global Gas Outlook 2050 – have been

dramatically impacted by the

subsequent health, humanitarian and

economic crises during 2020.

We note that trade frictions prepandemic,

primarily tensions between

the U.S. and China, will persist,

challenging overall economic growth

with a slowdown in world trade and deglobalisation.

The risk of geopolitical

standoffs is another trend on the rise,

p u t t i n g s u s t a i n a b l e e c o n o m i c

development at risk. As a result,

forecasts regarding growth at a global

level envision a recession that could be

as deep as 5%. In the long-term, global

real GDP is forecast to be 7% lower in

2050 than pre-COVID-19 projections.

The GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050

projects that natural gas demand in

Africa is expected to reach 380 bcm in

2050. Egypt and Nigeria will contribute

to around 50% of the natural gas

demand in the continent.

Natural gas production from the region

will double over the coming three decades

and reach 600 bcm. With the continent’s

13% current supply of global LNG

exports, Africa is emerging as one of the

core centres of LNG production and

exports globally. It will continue this

evolution in the mid-and long term. The

GECF forecasts that LNG exports from

Africa will reach 110 bcm by 2030 and

215 bcm by 2050.

Globally, natural gas will remain an

indispensable fuel, complementing the

energy transition. Contributing 48% to

the global growth in energy demand,

natural gas will overtake coal by 2025 to

become the largest energy source by the

mid-2040s.

This plentiful, adaptable and, crucially,

clean source of energy will expand

predominately across the Asia Pacific,

North America and Middle Eastern

markets, which together will be

responsible for more than 75% of total gas

demand growth by 2050, while the Asia-

Pacific region will become the largest gas

consumer.

As the great energy transition grows in

intensity, it will be natural gas, together

with renewables, which will provide

almost 60% of the world’s electricity

supply by 2050. Energy demand will grow

along with the global economy and the

increase in population. We will likely see

conventional and renewable energy

sources walking hand in hand, solving

climate issues and meeting consumer

needs for affordable energy.

OGR: Taking an overview of GECF's

latest Global Gas Outlook 2050, what are

the key findings and major areas of

growth opportunities?

Sentyurin: The GECF’s latest Global Gas

Outlook factors the long-term economic

and population dynamics, patterns

related to the COVID-19, as well as recent

energy policy developments. According

to our projections, global primary energy

demand is to grow by 24% over the next

three decades and reach 18,190 million

tonnes of equivalent oil (mtoe) by 2050,

driven by developing Asia and African

countries.

In the meantime, the structure of the

energy mix will become more diversified

thanks to the expansion of renewables.

However, fossil fuel is projected to remain

dominant, accounting for 71% in 2050,

compared to 81% in 2019. Oil will

continue to be an important source of

energy, but its share is forecast to decline

to 27%. In response to environmental

concerns, coal will drop sharply and will

account for only 16% of the future

primary energy demand.

74


NIGERIA GECF INTERVIEW

OIL AND GAS

This In turn, spirit natural was on display gas will at the be 5th the GECF only

hydrocarbon Summit of Heads resource of State to increase and Government its share

from in Equatorial 23% today Guinea to in 28% November in 2050. 2019 It will – a

bfirst-of-its-kind e c o m e a n event i n d i in s pAfrica e n s a– b where l e f uthe

e l ,

complementing GECF’s highest energy leadership transition reiterated targets the to

a crucial low-carbon role of economy. natural gas in Africa’s uplift

and resolved their common determination

In to absolute “promote volumes, the GECF the worldwide cooperation demand with

for African natural countries gas is expected to use to gas rise as by the 50% core to

5,920 source bcm of in energy 2050. This in their abundant, development flexible,

and programmes clean source and climate of energy change will policies, expand to

specifically overcome across energy the poverty, Asia Pacific, enhance North

American development and the and Middle to Eastern mitigate markets, CO2

emissions”. which will be responsible for more than 75%

of the total gas demand increase by 2050.

That The Asia same Pacific year, region Africa will gained represent a new the

elevation largest growth, in the doubling world of consumption energy at the to

Russia-Africa 1,660 bcm by that Summit, time. held in October 2019

in Sochi, Russia, and co-hosted by Russian

President From a sectoral Vladimir perspective, Putin and the Egyptian power

President generation Abdel and the Fattah industrial el-Sisi, sectors with will the be

attendance the major areas of of 43 growth heads opportunities. of state or In

government. particular, the At power this landmark sector will event, be the much main

emphasis driver, accounting was laid on for the almost sovereign 50% rights of the of

countries total increase to harness in gas their demand, natural thanks resources, to the

such strong as natural rise in gas, electricity for the advancement needs, policies of

their supporting societies. the After phase-out all, Africa of is bestowed coal-fired

with capacity, a rich as array well of as minerals a growing and role the for people gasfired

the generation continent must in providing have an equal flexibility shot to at

of

social p o w eand r spersonal y s t e m s prosperity. a m i d s t a s s e r t i v e

development of variable renewables.

Yet, as the world is progressing to increase

energy Accordingly, access the and global fulfil the power UN Sustainable generation

Development mix will change Goal significantly, (SDG) #7, and to in ensure 2050,

access natural to gas affordable, and renewables reliable, will sustainable make up

and 60% modern of the electricity energy for supply. all, there is still an

estimated 548 million people in sub-Saharan

Africa, Given stricter or 53% environmental of the population regulations without

access and targets to electricity, to curb according air pollution, to the United the

prospects Nations. Further, of natural nearly gas 789 inland million and Africans marine

transport currently have looks no also access very to promising. clean cooking. Surging

by a robust pace of 5.3% per annum, gas

demand In my participation in these segments at the recently-held will reach ‘The 360

bcm Decade in of 2050, Gas’ Conference with the majority (29 March), of

incremental where I joined gas Nigeria’s volumes stemming President from and the

development State Minister of for the Petroleum global NGV Resources market. HE

Muhammadu Buhari and HE Timpire Sylva,

On along the with supply global side, energy we foresee leaders, natural I had gas

production emphasised to that increase these communities by around deserve 50% to

meet access the to rising affordable, demand by reliable, 2050. New and

upstream sustainable modern projects energy, with such associated

natural

investments gas, to become are part crucial of the to global keep supply movement and

demand to eradicate balanced. energy poverty.

Around To mobilise 80% its of members’ annual production strength by to 2050 meet

will this be most sourced urgent from issue new facing projects. Africa, Yet-To- last

Find December resources the GECF will contribute entered into an around MoU

30% with of UNESCO the total with production the singular by 2050. goal That of

means researching the current and level developing of proven technologies reserves is

not and adequate mechanisms to that accommodate will enable the Africa rising to

demand unlock its and energy prioritising potential, projects while for

discovery safeguarding and exploration the global is crucial. environmental

ambitions. More than one-third of total gas production

will be sourced by unconventional

production Working from by 2050, our with Secretariat shale gas in leading Doha,

the Qatar, way. we are also working directly with

In representatives terms of the of regional several countries production from of

natural Africa. The gas, GECF almost regularly all regions engages are expected with

to expand their production over the outlook

Chief Timipre Sylva

His Excellency Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General of Gas

Exporting Countries Forum (GECF),

period except Europe, which is The workshop’s action plan is to research

expected ambassadors to register and members a decline of of around and from promote Mozambique practices to the world related by to 2024- the

70%. diplomatic missions from Africa, who decarbonisation 25.

pathways of natural gas

represent around 20 countries from the with a focus on four themes:

Africa, African Latin continent. America, The and Forum the has Middle also Mitigating Additionally, upstream there emissions are more than 74

East hosted will an witness ‘African the Ambassadors greatest growth Group’ Carbon-neutral million mt/year of LNG LNG export capacity to

rates – a day-long in gas production conference over dedicated the outlook to Making be approved industrial the Sub Saharan clusters region with by

period. energy in Africa.

integration 2030, provided with that CCS/CCUS all the conditions to allow gas are

to met fuel if hard-to-decarbonise we view it in the context sectorsof the

This OGR: enthusiasm Please, could and belief you provide in Africa’s an Capturing African the Coalition blue hydrogen for Trade and

energy update potential on the action are not plans unfounded following or Investment in Natural Gas.

without t h e G Emerit. C F 3 Projections r d W o r k sfrom h o p the o n OGR: How are the preparations going for

Environmental latest available iteration Advantage of the of Natural GECF’s the At the GECF same Summit time, new of Heads market of players State and are

Gas? Global Gas Outlook 2050 show that Government rising with the in Qatar discovery in November of huge 2021? gas

Africa will witness the highest growth reserves in Tanzania, Gabon, Mauritania,

rate Sentyurin: of natural The gas 3rd among edition all regions of the of Sentyurin: Congo, Senegal, 2021 and beckons Cameroon a new that era are for

the Workshop world, at on nearly the 150% Environmental

up to 2050. the likely GECF to support as an we ambitious mark gas our masterplan

for domestic We are consumption also looking as at well a rich as

20th

Advantages Countries of such Natural as Senegal Gas was held and anniversary.

Mauritania virtually (December in Africa 2020) stand due on to the array LNG exports. of events and activities across 2021,

precipice COVID-19 of pandemic, the league which of gas has exporters forced including – foremost – the upcoming 6th

in countries’ the short efforts term, while towards Mozambique balancing GECF I believe Summit our multi-faceted of Heads of efforts State and are

and the Tanzania need to are restore expected economies to become and Government, bearing fruit and in November this was evidenced 2021 in Qatar

the

natural implement gas exporters environmental in the long safeguards. term. along last GECF with its Ministerial associated Meeting, events. held in

The interest in environmental November 2020. The 22nd GECF

protection In the short in term energy too, the systems GECF’s first was Ministerial The State Meeting of Qatar was will hosted be hosting (virtually) this

reflected Annual Short-Term in the Gas high Market level Report of bmarque y A l g eevent r i a a nfollowing d w e l c oa mgoodwill

e d t h e

participation (2020) shows, in this Africa workshop, boasts several as well participation initiative by the of country’s ministers leadership, and top

as promising in the growth increasing factors, such number as in the of authorities which was welcomed from several and guest endorsed African by

participants area of power since generation, the first in workshop transport countries the 21st GECF who Ministerial delivered Meeting their key in

edition through held natural in 2017. gas vehicles (NGVs), messages Moscow in on 2019. the energy sector and gas

and investments.

market in particular, including from

T h e w o r k s h o p p r e s e n t e d a n Mozambique, A first meeting Tanzania, to ensure the Tunisia, successful and

assessment The GECF is working of the prospects to foster stronger of the Senegal. organisation of the 6th GECF Summit was

carbon partnerships emissions with other stemming Africa-based from convened in the first part of April 2021.

energy-related organisations such activities as AFREC, in the APPO, post- OGR: This meeting GECF and was UNESCO held under have the signed remit an of

COVID-19 and the Africa world Energy about Chamber the (AEC). GECF MOU the High-Level on climate Ad change. Hoc Working What is Group GECF

Global To give Gas you Model’s an idea Base of Case the Scenario. pace of planning (HLAHWG), for Africa? a special working group that

development in the gas industry in oversees and guides the preparation,

The Africa, workshop Mozambique underlined alone the took balanced FID on Sentyurin: organisation, The GECF and serves delivery as a platform of this

role 3.3 million of natural tonnes gas per in annum supporting (mtpa) not in for signature the biennial science-policy GECF event. interface,

only 2017 the followed transition by a to further low-carbon 13 mtpa and in underpinning the importance of the

less 2019. polluting The first project economies is expected but to also be exchange The HLAHWG of scientific meeting enjoyed knowledge, a full

economic commissioned and social in 2022, progress. and the second experience, quorum thanks and to the dissemination participation of

one will enable LNG flows

information distinguished through representatives research and from

26 75


GECF INTERVIEW

Member Countries Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt,

Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria,

Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

The meeting’s agenda embraced items of

the status report of preparations to the 6th

GECF Summit, the Ministerial Meeting, the

3rd GECF International Gas Seminar, draft

Summit Declaration, and update on the

GECF Awards initiative, amongst others.

T h e i n v i t a t i o n t o F o r u m ’ s p e e r

intergovernmental and international

organisations such as OPEC, the

I n t e r n a t i o n a l E n e r g y F o r u m , t h e

International Gas Union, as well as guest

countries also came under the discussion.

At the moment, a comprehensive roadmap

on the preparation and delivery of the

Summit is in progress. Having held five

Summits so far, the GECF community

has worked out a well-thought-out and

balanced composition of the event

agenda.

I would recall HE Saad bin Sherida Al-

Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy

Affairs, Member of the Cabinet, and the

Deputy Chairman, President and CEO

of Qatar Petroleum saying, that the

sixth edition of the Summit is going to

"reflect the deep belief in dialogue and

co-operation in the effort to meet the

world’s growing demand for energy”.

Promoting the bid, His Excellency

reminded the stakeholders of Qatar’s

commitments to the responsibilities it

carries as the world’s leading liquefied

natural gas producer, foremost of

which is encouraging regional and

international dialogue as well as

promoting natural gas as the cleanest of

fossil fuels and a destination fuel in the

transition to low-carbon economies.

The biennial Summit aims at providing a

platform for policy and decision makers’

dialogue on the latest developments and

trends in the gas industry globally, hence

its agenda, apart from administrative and

political guidance matters, embraces the

most promising discussions – energy

transitions, nurturing of cooperation, and

clean front-running technologies

implementation, amongst others.

GECF Holds Methane Emissions Solution Workshop

It exists in abundance on Earth and has

even been found on other planets,

including Mars, but this major force of

life – methane – can also harm the

e n v i r o n m e n t w h e n n o t c o n t a i n e d

appropriately.

This was the subject of a workshop recently

organised by the Gas Exporting Countries

Forum (GECF), the global platform of the

leading gas producing nations, as part of the

Forum’s Environmental Knowledge and

Solutions (EKS) initiative.

Entitled “Methane Emissions Reduction

Practices and Measurement Workshop”, the

event gathered leading experts drawn from the

energy world who explored ways to tackle the

second most abundant anthropogenic

greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2) in

our atmosphere.

Agricultural activities are the biggest

contributor to methane emissions, followed by

the oil and gas industry, accounting for around

25%, of which 77% comes from the upstream

sector. Methane is more than 25 times as

potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the

atmosphere. It is, however, much more shortlived

compared to Co2.

Welcoming the guest speakers and the

audience, HE Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General

of the GECF, underscored the complex

challenges imposed by climate change and the

many solutions the Forum is advancing as part

of an international effort.

“Methane emissions as a topic has historically

been complex due to lack of data transparency

and due to difficulty in quantifying and

detecting the primary source. The good news is

that our industry has practices in place to

monitor, reduce, and prevent methane

emissions,” said HE Sentyurin.

Citing United Nations (UN) figures, HE Sentyurin

noted that around 80% of oil and gas measures

abatement practices could be implemented at a

negative or low-cost.

“Globally, the GECF is engaged with the UN

Framework Convention on Climate Change as

an observer organisation and aims, through this

involvement, to contribute to the international

climate debate and promote our Member

Countries’ collective actions for improving the

environmental credentials of natural gas and

promoting its role in sustainable development.”

Guest speaker Mr Wael Abd El Moati, Gas

Industries Expert at Organisation of Arab

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC),

enriched the event with his ideas on mitigating

techniques that can be applied across the

industry.

“We have to first look at the big picture. The

contribution of oil and gas sector to the global

methane emissions is estimated at 9-12%. It’s

not 70 or 80 or 90%. We are a component in the

other big components,” said Mr El Moati.

“My key message today is that methane

emissions reduction creates an opportunity – a

real opportunity – to make oil and gas industry

part of the solution to achieve sustainable

energy system.”

Next guest speaker, Mr Christian Lelong,

Director of Natural Resources at Kayrros, delved

into the firm’s Methane Watch initiative, which

is the only monitoring platform in the world to

measure the methane footprint of companies,

regions and countries on a global scale. The

Methane Watch of Kayrros, an advanced data

analytics provider, uses satellite imagery and

advanced algorithms to generate real-time

atmospheric measurements.

“We think satellite is a very important tool. We

have been collaborating with the International

Energy Agency… the European Commission; we

are using their satellites which we are very

happy with in helping to find ways to improve

the technology for satellite monitoring. But we

are also very keen to work with the industry,”

said Mr Lelong.

“At the end of the day, it’s the industry that will

be coming up with the solutions and our role

therefore is as a data provider and to help the

industry understand where, and perhaps, how

to mitigate emissions efficiently.”

The third speaker at the widely attended event

was Eng. Mustafa Amer, Researcher at GECF,

who presented methane abatement practices

and a case study from the upstream gas sector

from a GECF Member Country.

“Methane data widely vary across sources.

Improving methane measurement at scale will

accelerate the progress globally. But priority

should be given to abatement practices that

target venting in the upstream sector,” noted

Mr Amer.

“Methane abatement technologies in the oil

and gas industry are available and can be

accompanied by numerous economic gains.”

26 76


AFREXIMBANK INTERVIEW

“Afreximbank Introduces Oilfield Financial Instrument

for African Operators” - Humphrey Nwugo

that Afreximbank strongly supports.

In terms of the structure of the oil and gas

industry, the upstream sector is still largely

dominated by large IOCs and non-African

service providers. Control and operatorship

are largely in the hands of international

investors through ownership can take

different forms from JVs to PSCs and all the

variants in between.

Oilfield services support the activities in the

upstream segment of the oil and gas industry.

By some accounts, Oilfield services make up to

80% of the total production cost per barrel of

oil in the sector. This requires long term

financing for CAPEX and related expenditure.

Oilfield services are also dominated by

international players, except in Nigeria where

the local content policy has improved the

participation of local operators.

Humphrey Nwugo is the Regional Chief

Operating Officer (RCOO) for Southern

Africa at African Export-Import Bank

(Afreximbank). In this role, Humphrey is

responsible for driving Afreximbank’s

business development activities in trade,

projects, and export development finance

at the regional level in Southern Africa. He

is currently based at the Regional Office of

the Bank in Harare, Zimbabwe and cover

13 countries including Angola,

B o t s w a n a , E s w a t i n i , L e s o t h o ,

Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius,

Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South

Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Prior to his appointment as the RCOO in

2018, He has worked in different

departments at the Bank’s Cairo

Headquarters including Banking

Operations, Trade Finance as well as

Syndications and Specialized Finance.

Before joining Afreximbank in 2010, He

worked for various banks in Nigeria

starting at Citizens International Bank,

Humphrey Nwugo

Regional Chief Operating Officer (RCOO) for

Southern Africa at Afreximbank

then Zenith Bank and finally Intercontinental

Bank.

In this interview with Oil and Gas Republic,

Humphrey outlined how the Bank has been

able to develop a strong relationship with

African operators, unveiling Afreximbank's

oilfield financial solutions dedicated for

African oil and gas operators. Ndubuisi

Micheal Obineme brings the Excerpts:

OGR: How would you evaluate Africa’s oil

and gas industry?

Humphrey: Africa’s oil & gas sector remains

an enclave with limited links to other sectors

of the economies of African oil-producing

nations.

However, the sector constitutes the

backbone of the economies of these

countries contributing, in some instances,

over 90% of all export revenues and

accounting for over a third of the total

merchandise export revenues of the

continent. It is therefore a strategic sector

Unfortunately, Africa’s hydrocarbon countries

have not fully maximized the benefits accruing

from these minerals. Most of the countries still

export oil in crude form and import the same

oil after it has been refined abroad thereby

exporting jobs, values, economic growth and

development whilst being at the receiving end

of the fluctuations in international oil prices.

None of these countries is self-sufficient in

terms of refined product. This is certainly not

good enough.

Through Afreximbank’s Export Development

pillar of its current strategic plan, the Bank is

encouraging African countries, not just those

producing oil and gas, but all the countries

involved in the export of primary commodities

to begin to process them or add some value

within the continent.

Concerning oil and gas, Afreximbank is

supporting several refining initiatives in

different countries in Africa spanning Nigeria,

Angola, Ivory Coast and Morocco.

Nigeria's launch of the local content policy has

been heavily praised by experts and analysts. I

am pleased that Angola recently amended its

local content laws to allow more indigenous

players to play a part in this lucrative sector.

The Nigerian Local Content board has been

very active incapacitating indigenous players

both from a financing perspective and also

capacity building. Overall, African

Governments should make concerted efforts

to enable their citizens to participate by way of

ownership (marginal fields), oilfield services

and in integrating other sectors of their

economies.

77



In terms of the downstream sector

(including refining, distribution and sales),

Afreximbank has been very active in

financing the purchase of crude oil and

importation of refined products as well as

pipeline, tank farms and other activities in

the value chain. Refining is an area Nigeria is

currently focusing on and working with

several member countries that are oilproducing

to process their products.

Another area countries should focus on

especially as conventional energy becomes

less and less relevant is the petrochemical

industry. Countries like Angola and Nigeria

are very well positioned to adopt what is

called a cluster development model by

setting aside an area that could be termed “a

petrochemical village or petrochemical

industrial park” to process some of the

b y p r o d u c t s o f t h e s e t r a d i t i o n a l

hydrocarbons. Clustering has been

proposed as a key instrument in making

enclave sectors in Africa connect to larger

economies.

OGR: What's Afreximbank relationship

with Africa’s industry players and

regulators?

Humphrey: Afreximbank has a very strong

relationship with players in the sector as well

as regulators. We have supported several

regulators and national oil companies in

different countries. We have a significant

line of credit in favour of the Nigerian

National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for

various activities as well as Sonangol in

Angola.

Afreximbank also supported many

indigenous players during the IOC

divestment round a few years ago with

approvals in support of Nigerians in excess

of US$5billion. Many of them are still on our

books as we support the ramp-up phase of

t h e s e o i l f i e l d s . I n M o z a m b i q u e ,

Afreximbank is participating in the

Mozambique LNG project for about

US$400million through a combination of

loans and guarantees. Afreximbank is also

supporting several NOCs in different

countries in Africa.

OGR: Infrastructure, Technology and

Finance have been identified as the major

challenges facing Africa’s oil and gas

industry. How is Afreximbank providing

financial instruments on energy projects as

well as offering support for the

infrastructure challenges in the continent?

Humphrey: Afreximbank has come a long

way in bringing structured finance

approaches in support of African entities

operating both upstream and downstream

The Bank’s instruments of intervention have

also evolved from the initial corporate

finance principles to the introduction of

Afreximbank’ s

structured Oilfield services financing

and more recently to reserve-based

lending and borrowing base financings

for upstream activities. Financing of

African operators seeking to develop

marginal Oilfields, for instance, was

initially considered unattractive by

lenders. But

Afreximbank’ s activities in the sector

helped to revive interest from

international banks in the financing of

local firms...

In terms of infrastructure finance,

Afreximbank is very active in

supporting infrastructure that is both

trade enabling and trade facilitating.

The Bank has supported and continues

to support networks that enable cross

border movement of goods and

services in line with the Bank’s Intra

African trade focus. We are therefore

focused on facilities such as ports

(seaports, dry ports, airports etc) as well

as regional roads and railways as we see

these as trade enablers. In the oil and

gas sector, we are also busy with some

pipeline projects, barges, jetties,

storage terminal and distribution points

and storage facilities in different

countries in Africa.

Further, the Bank recently introduced a

Project Preparatory Facility (PPF) in

support of early-stage expenses in

project finance. This product has been

very attractive to those entrepreneurs

who have bold ideas but may not have

enough capital in the beginning to

finance their project.

OGR: What major energy projects are

you working on and providing financial

support?

H u m p h r e y : D u e t o c l i e n t

confidentiality, I am not able to specify

names but, as I indicated earlier, we are

supporting the Mozambique LNG

project. Our participation is already in

the public domain. Our pipeline of oil,

gas and energy transactions on the

continent is currently over

US$10billion including the different value

chain activities and also in different

countries.

OGR: What role will Afreximbank play

towards the African Continental Free

Trade Agreement?

Humphrey: As part of our strategic plan,

t h e B a n k h a s e m b r a c e d t h e

transformative potential of the AfCFTA

for African economic development. In this

regard, the Bank is working closely with

the African Union and member states to

support the implementation of the

AfCFTA through a number of financing

and facilitation instruments. Afreximbank

created an Intra-African Trade Division,

with an ultimate focus on promoting

Intra-African trade and implementation of

the AfCFTA and has disbursed more than

US$20 billion on a revolving basis during

the last four years in support of intra-

African trade.

The Bank has also onboarded 400 of the

600 African regulated commercial banks

under its Afreximbank Trade Facilitation

programme to benefit from LC

confirmation lines in support of intra-

African trade, with a target to grant US$8

billion in limits.

Another key initiative is the Intra-African

Trade Fair, a platform to be held every

two years to connect buyers and sellers

across Africa and address access to trade

and market information as key enabler for

intra-African trade. Building on the

success of the inaugural Intra-African

Trade Fair that took place in 2018 in

Cairo, the second edition of the Intra-

African Trade fair, IATF2021 will take

place in September 2021 in Kigali,

Rwanda.

The Bank has also launched a USD1 billion

AfCFTA Adjustment Facility to support

member states achieve an orderly

adjustment to the liberalized trade

environment and was mandated by the

AU Summit to work with Ministers of

Trade and Finance to develop statutes

and a resource mobilization plan for the

AfCFTA Adjustment Facility and has

provided a grant of US$3 million to

support the operational set up of the

AfCFTA Secretariat.

Afreximbank is also partnering with the

AU to roll out the Pan-African Payments

and Settlements System, which will

facilitate the payment and settlements of

trade transactions in local currencies and

overcome the challenge of currency

inconvertibility and foreign exchange

shortages that hamper intra-African

trade. Afreximbank is also developing an

African Collaborative Transit Guarantee

78


COUNTRY

REPORT

INTERVIEWS

AND

INDUSTRY

NEWS


Scheme which will provide a single transit

guarantee that will facilitate the movement

of goods throughout the continent.

The Bank also developed its automotive

strategy which will facilitate the

development of the African automotive

sector and facilitate trade under the

AfCFTA. The strategy focuses on the

development of automotive regional value

chains, automotive financing and

development of national and regional

policies and strategies creating an enabling

environment for the automotive industry.

The automotive sector will catalyse the

development of other sectors such as steel,

textiles and leather, glass manufacturing,

petrochemicals, electronics and so on…

OGR: At the African Union AFCFTA

Business Forum, Afreximbank talked about

the new payment system also known as

PAPSS. What role will PAPSS play in the oil

and gas industry?

Humphrey: Pan African Payment and

Settlement System (PAPSS) is sponsored by

Afreximbank in collaboration with the

African Union and some African central

banks.

It is a central financial market infrastructure

to support payment arrangements to

expand the international trade of African

States and to facilitate economic and

financial integration of Africa.

PAPSS expects to connect the entire

continent and handle instant payments

in multiple African currencies and

provide a settlement mechanism that

creates trust within the ecosystem.

PAPSS will then enable all participants

for example those in the oil and gas

industry to send or receive crossborder

payment from each other in

real-time.

This brings two critical changes to

Africa's trade finance: minimising the

use of hard currencies in trade

p a y m e n t s , a n d d o m e s t i c a t i n g

payments and settlements within

Africa. This in turn will help

organisations and their financiers

manage currency risks better.

O G R : H o w i s A f r e x i m b a n k

contributing to local content

development in Africa?

Humphrey: Though improving, banks

are still reluctant to finance firms in

supply chains (local content) as they do

not fully appreciate the risks in such

deals. They prefer to finance the

ultimate exporters. This preference

inhibits the development of domestic

supply chains in support of oil and gas

activities as it encourages oil producers

and ultimate exporters to access the

services of foreign suppliers and service

providers.

In recognising the problems indigenous

companies face in respect of their

participation in activities of the sector,

Afreximbank designed special means of

supporting them through three key

instruments as follows:

I. Advisory services aimed at corporate

reorganization and preparing borrowers

to enter the loans market;

ii. Structured finance to mitigate

corporate finance risks; and

iii. Risk bearing support, through

guarantees and insurance

Indeed, financing local content in the

extractive industry is an integral part of

the Bank’s current strategic plan. The

Bank’s successes in financing African

Content Vehicles in Nigeria; Ghana,

Angola and Zimbabwe demonstrate that

these entities can be profitably financed.

As a DFI, we recognize that billions of US$

can therefore be retained in the continent

if domestic supply chains flourish

OGR: How much has Afreximbank

invested in Africa’s energy industry so

far?

Humphrey: Cumulative exposure to the

energy sector in Africa in the last 5 years

alone is about US$15billion representing

an average of 22% of the Bank’s overall

portfolio

OGREPUBLIC

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Supported By

AFRICA NEWS CONTENT

Coral South Project is Positioning

Mozambique as an LNG Key Player

Uganda Now Transiting from Exploration to

Development Phase

81 82 83

South Sudan Launches First-Ever Oil and

Gas Licensing Round

Africa Needs a Collaborative Ecosystem Between

Stakeholders and AFCFTA


The Chairman of the Petroleum

Technology Association of Nigeria

(PETAN), Mr Nicolas Odinuwe, has said

that Africa needs a collaborative ecosystem

between the local industry stakeholders within

the Sub-Saharan Africa region alongside the

Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Mr Odinuwe made this remarkable speech

during his keynote address at the 5th edition of


Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC)

held as a hybrid event this year from 19 – 21

May 2021.

According to him, Sub-Saharan Africa has

about 62.6 billion barrels of proven crude

reserves with an estimated 221.6 trillion cubic

feet of natural gas reserves, which has

positioned the region to be the last energy

frontier and global hub.

“A key enabler is to create a collaborative

ecosystem between the local industry

stakeholders alongside the Africa Continental

Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which has come into

effect.

“Government across Africa especially the

African producers should provide necessary

incentives to attract private sector investments

across the entire value chain.”

This, according to him, will trigger a massive

economic revolution, human capital

development and deepen local content across

Sub-Saharan Africa.

He emphasized that the current situation

Africa finds itself is due to the importation of

refined crude products, and, with this

development, it cannot generate the desired on

the economy and provide huge opportunities

for investment.

“PETAN is an association of leading Nigeria’s

indigenous technical service providers in the

upstream, midstream, and downstream sector

of the oil industry.

“The association is the largest and leading

advocacy group representing oil and gas service

companies.

“Our members are from the entire value chain

of the industry and have been delivering quality

services to the Nigerian oil and gas industry for

over 30 years.

“Part of our position as PETAN following the

COVID-19 pandemic is to help others embrace

Mr Nicolas Odinuwe, PETAN Chairman

local content, lower supply chain cost, boost

local skills, technology development, human

capital development and eliminate capital flight

from the continent.

“This is based on our over 60 years of oil and gas

and over 10 years of robust local content

practices.

“We would like to appeal to the government,

representatives, policymakers, legislatures,

industry stakeholders and players, to

incorporate the contents of this conference into

their plans and policies for a better operating

environment that will have the desired and

positive effects on our respective economies,”

he added.

81


AFRICA NEWS

Coral South Project is Positioning Mozambique as an

LNG Key Player

The $7 billion worth Coral South project,

operated by Eni in Mozambique, is

positioning the country as an LNG key

player in Southern Africa, Mr Juan Carlos Carol,

Coral South Project Director, Eni, has said.

The project, which is the first project in the

Rovuma basin, was executed in June 2017 but

will start production in 2022.

According to Carol, the project consists of a

floating liquefaction unit that will be

connected to six subsea wells into Eni’s subsea

production system, umblical and flowlines.

This, he said, will be the first deepwater

Floating LNG (FLNG) project worldwide, adding

that it is also the first LNG project in Africa as

well as Mozambique.

“Coral FLNG project will have a liquefaction

capacity of 3.4 MTPA and will produce up to 5

billion cubic metres (bcm) per year.

“Been the first FLNG project in Mozambique,

Coral will pave the way for other mega LNG

projects, building capacity and resources which

will be instrumental to boost Mozambique's

economy.

“The project is currently under execution from

seven different operating centres around the

world. Today, we have over 6,000 people

working on the project that includes

contractors and company personnel.

“The FLNG is under construction at the

Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South

Korea while the Turret construction is taking

place in Singapore. All the upstream activities,

well operations and other preparations are

taking place in Mozambique,” Carol said.

The Final Investment Decision (FID) on the

project was taken in June 2017 and over the

past years, Eni has been able to achieve several

milestones in the project.

The FLNG First Steel Cut took place in

September 2018. In 2019, the company

delivered the 6 XTs to Mozambique to enable it

to start the drilling campaign. In January 2020,

it did the Hull Launch and the installations in

the Topsides in the Hull.

Although there are lots of activities to be

carried out on the project, Carol is very

confident that production will commence by

2022.

Carol noted that despite the technical

challenges on the project as well as the COVID-

19 pandemic, Eni has managed to ensure the

continuity of the project, adding that about 78

per cent of progress has been made overall on

the project.

“Today, we have completed the lifting activities

for all the Topside modules and they are already

in the vessel. We have also concluded the

fabrication of the Turret modules in Singapore.

“We are also starting the integration and

commissioning phases of all the modules in

South Korea and prepare for the next phase

which will be the sail away of the FLNG FPSO.

“While we continue working in South Korea and

Singapore, there are also other activities taking

place in different countries such as the Flexible

Risers and Flowlines are under fabrication in

France.

“The manifolds fabrication has been built and in

storage in Italy. And the Umbilicals fabrication

has been completed and in storage in Norway.

While the Christmas Trees have been delivered

in Mozambique. Wellheads are already

deployed in the six wells and one spare stored in

Pemba,” he said.

On the Local Content Strategy on the project,

Carol said that the project has created positive

developments and impacts towards

Mozambique workforce including SMEs, among

others.

He said, “In terms of the development of the

national workforce, we have developed 200

program that aims at training 200 Mozambique

graduates in areas related to the energy

industry.

“ Today, we have trained almost 150

Mozambique professionals in the first phase of

the program that was launched in 2012. About

40 professionals are undergoing the second

phase of the program which was launched in

2019.

“We also have several Mozambique colleagues

who have been involved in job training in South

Korea towards the preparation of the operation

phase.

“We will be creating up to 1,000 direct and

indirect jobs. And we are also investing

extensively in vocational training in

collaboration with Mozambique colleges and

institutions. We are also offering oil and gas

scholarships.

“In 2018, we launched an SME Development

program in partnership with Standard Bank on

opportunities to Mozambique enterprises. So

far, more than 100 SMEs have been trained in

business development and nearly 600

Mozambique have also benefited from the

entrepreneurship program.”

Eni is planning to establish the SURF installation

and mooring pre-lay this year. The company has

also developed an online portal where

Mozambique local suppliers can register their

business on its platform. About 600 suppliers

have already been registered on its platform

and about 240 of the companies have been

successfully qualified to work on the company’s

projects.

82


EAST AFRICA

Uganda Now Transiting from Exploration to

Development Phase

Uganda is now transiting from the

exploration phase to the

development phase of its oilfields.

With about three projects coming up, the

country expects to develop those of its

oilfields where it has some discoveries.

It also expects to have a 60,000 barrels

refinery and 200,000 barrels export

crude oil pipeline from Uganda to

Tanzania.

Uganda has about 21 oil and gas

discoveries, 6 billion barrels of oil in place,

1.4 billion barrels of recoverable

resources, 500 Bcf of gas, 9 production

licenses, over 14 discoveries to CNOOC,

Total and Tullow, 3 exploration licenses

to Armour Energy and Oranto Petroleum,

and 90 per cent of the Albertine Graben

is unlicensed.

“We are now transiting from the

exploration phase to the development

phase and we have about three projects

coming up as we expect to develop those

oilfields where we have some

discoveries.

“We expect to have a 60,000 barrels

refinery. We also expect to have a

200,000 barrels export crude oil pipeline

from Uganda to Tanzania. And we also

have new licenses that are in

exploration,” said Mr James Musherure

Rujoki, a Senior National Content Officer

in charge of Contracts at the Petroleum

Authority of Uganda.

National Content or Local Content has

been the focus of the Petroleum Authority of

Uganda. In 2018, the country developed

National Content Policy known as the

'National Oil and Gas Policy' with two major

objectives.

In the country’s National Content Policy,

there are about two laws which include The

Petroleum (Exploration, Development and

Production) Act and Petroleum (Refining,

Conversion, Transmission and Midstream

Storage) Act. Under these laws, there are

requirements for National Content. The

country also has a specific National Content

requirement for Production Sharing

Agreements, among others.

Uganda’s National Content is about value

addition. It is also about contributions to the

Ugandan economy, its citizens and

enterprises. It is anchored on five key pillars,

which include Technology Transfer;

Employment of Ugandan citizens; Capacity

Building; Use of locally produced goods and

services; and Enterprise Development.

“As a result of creating our National Content,

we have seen tremendous growth on value

retention in the country of about 943 million

dollars out of 3.5 billion dollars between 2012

- 2019.

“We have about $3.5 billion invested in

Uganda's oil and gas sector and we have

retained about $943 million about 28 per cent

of the investment going to the Ugandan local

companies.

“We have seen tremendous growth on

Ugandan Local Content. Local Content has

been a top priority for the Ugandan

government. But it is a gradual process and we

are committed to making sure we achieve a lot

on local content development in Uganda.

“We are making sure we continue developing

the competitiveness of Ugandan enterprises.

As a government, we have done so many

things on that aspect,” said Rujoki.

He further stated, “We developed a study to

identify the strengths of Ugandan companies

and it is from that study that we set up a

National Supplier Database covering about

1,771 entities (72% Ugandan). The Database

provides detailed information about the

Ugandan local companies such as their

products and services, certifications, among

others. The National Supplier Database is an

instrumental tool as we have seen positive

results from it.

“We have established an Industrial

Enhancement Centre. These centres are

meant to develop the local companies in areas

that they are lacking behind.

“We have had various training for companies

like HSE management, International Bid

Management practices.

“We also realised that there are funding

issues. On this note, we have put in place a

specific policy to support local firms

financially and the Ugandan government will

be providing funds for these companies.

“We have also seen Joint Ventures partner.

We have seen International and local

companies collaborate to promote

technology transfer. It is also part of the

requirements on our National Content.”

83


SOUTH SUDAN

South Sudan Launches First-Ever

Oil and Gas Licensing Round

The Ministry of Petroleum (MoP) of

the Republic of South Sudan, is

honoured to announce the launch

of the country’s first Oil Licensing Round.

The MoP has identified new exploration

blocks with potential hydrocarbons and

has compiled crucial data to provide to

interested investors, operators and

counterparties.

According to the new analysis

commissioned by the Ministry,

approximately 90% of South Sudan’s oil

and gas reserves remain unexplored,

providing unprecedented opportunities

to international investors.

The Oil Licensing Round aims to attract

interest from a diverse group of foreign

investors to a region that is already home

to oil and gas majors from China and

Malaysia. The country is hoping to

welcome back experienced partners and

operators following significant progress

in returning to peace and stability. With

the new data, analysis, and governance

mechanisms, the Ministry seeks to

attract high-quality investors and

partners.

This bidding round is for a number of

selected blocks, which will be facilitated

and evaluated based on set criteria by the

MoP.

The available blocks are shown on the map

and range between 4,000 and 25,000km2,

with most comprising between 15,000 and

20,000 km2.

Oil & Gas Exploration in South Sudan

Currently, there are three consortiums

operating producing blocks in South Sudan,

with another four oil exploration companies

having acquired production sharing contracts.

1. Producing Blocks:

- Block 3 and 7 – DAR Petroleum

Operating Company: China National

Petroleum Corporation, Petronas, Nile

Petroleum Corporation (8% equity)

- Block 1, 2 & 4 – Greater Pioneer

Operating Company: China National

Petroleum Corporation, Petronas, Nile


- Block 5A – Sudd Petroleum Operating

Company: Petronas, Nile Petroleum

Corporation (8% equity)

2. Awarded Exploration Blocks:

- Block B3 – Oranto Petroleum, Nile


- Block 5B - Ascom, Nile Petroleum

Corporation (10% equity)

- Block B2- Strategic Fuel Fund, Nile


3. Free Blocks:

- Blocks: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6

- Blocks: B1, B4

- Blocks: C1, C2

- Blocks: D1, D2

- Blocks: E1, E2

4. First Licensing Round:

- Blocks A2, A5, B1, B4, D2

Once the expression of interest process is

concluded, the Ministry of Petroleum will host

a virtual series of data presentations, followed

by an international roadshow.

After years of instability and conflict, lasting

peace is finally gaining a foothold in the

country following the establishment of the

Transitional Government of National Unity

(TGNU) in February 2020, and the follow-up

agreement over governance of the country’s

states. South Sudan is now firmly back on a

positive developmental path and is expected

to continue as one of Africa’s fastest-growing

countries in the foreseeable future.

Potential investors are now able to request all

relevant information from the Ministry of

Petroleum until August 23rd 2021, by

expressing their interest and providing

c o n t a c t d e t a i l s o n l i n e a t

www.southsudanlicensinground.com

84


WEST AFRICA

AMEA Power launches 50MW Solar Power Plant in Togo

Mila Aziable, Minister Delegate to the President

of the Republic, in charge of Energy and Mines

in Togo, commented: “The development of the

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed PV plant is an

excellent example of a successful Public-Private

Partnership in Africa, with AMEA Power utilising

Togo’s committed implementation unit and

favourable investment climate to pre-fund a

large-scale renewable energy project on

balance sheet. We are delighted to have worked

with a team of such highly-skilled professionals

with demonstrated know-how in the energy

sector.”

AMEA Power, a subsidiary of UAEbased

Al Nowais Investments

(ANI), has commissioned its 50MW

solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Blitta, Togo,

marking the country’s first utility-scale

renewable energy project developed by an

Independent Power Producer (IPP), and

one of the largest solar PV IPP plants in

West Africa.

Officially named Sheikh Mohamed Bin

Zayed, after His Highness Sheikh

Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown

Prince of Abu Dhabi, the PV plant has been

delivered in record time, with just 18

months between the signing of the Power

P u r c h a s e A g r e e m e n t ( P PA ) a n d

c o m m e n c e m e n t o f c o m m e r c i a l

operations.

Built by AMEA Togo Solar, a subsidiary of

AMEA Power, the plant, located 267km

from Togo’s capital, Lomé, has a planned

production of nearly 90,255 MWh of

power per year. This will supply power to

approximately 158,333 Togolese

households per year, with 9% of energy

generation feeding into the local Blitta

distribution network, enough to meet

demand in the area.

The power plant will be operated for 25

years by AMEA Togo Solar, saving more

than 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions

over the course of its life. The plant is

instrumental in supporting Togo’s

ambitious US$8 billion 2018 – 2022

National Development Plan (NDP), which

aims to achieve universal access to

electricity by 2030 and to increase the

share of renewables in the energy mix to

50%.

Omar Farouk

Hussain Al Nowais, Chairman of AMEA Power,

commented: “We are delighted to launch the

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed PV plant and

extend our congratulations to all those

involved. Togo was an obvious choice for AMEA

Power’s first operational power plant in Africa,

with it being an important trade hub in West

Africa, along with the government’s progressive

regulatory framework for renewable energy

projects, which was key in ensuring the

completion of the project in a fast, efficient, and

responsible manner. This is an incredibly

exciting time for AMEA Power, and we are on

track to becoming one of the fastest-growing

renewable energy IPPs, with several additional

projects set to achieve financial close in 2021.”

His Excellency Faure Gnassingbé, President of

Togo, and AMEA Power’s Chairman, Hussain Al

Nowais, attended an inauguration ceremony

today [22nd June 2021] at the power plant site.

Other high-profile attendees included the

Prime Minister of Togo, Victoire Tomegah

Dogbé; Minister Delegate to the President of

the Republic, in charge of Energy and Mines in

Togo, Mila Aziable; Director of Compagnie

Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET), Laré

Santiégou; Senior Advisor to the President of

Togo, Shegun Adjadi Bakari; President of the

West African Development Bank, Serge Ekué;

and the Deputy Director General of the Abu

Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Khalifa Al

Qubaisi.

The project was supported with concessional

loans from the West African Development Bank

(BOAD) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for

Development (ADFD). It was pre-funded on

balance sheet, and then refinanced, a unique

model for a large-scale IPP project in Africa. This

is indicative of the level of project certainty

created by the NDP’s regulatory framework,

which provided AMEA Power with the

necessary level of assurance and comfort to

embark on the project’s execution well in

advance of the financing being arranged.

Community impact

The construction of the power plant helped to

create local employment opportunities, with

80% of plant workers hailing directly from Togo.

AMEA Power also invested directly in

community initiatives in Blitta, which positively

impacted more than 100,000 people, by

constructing (and providing equipment for) one

new clinic and three new school buildings;

renovating four schools; providing school

supplies for 1,400 students; and installing a

water pump at a local primary school. AMEA

Power will provide electrification via solar

power to the schools and clinic.

Moreover, AMEA Power ’s internship

programme brought 36 engineering students

from various technical institutions in Togo to

the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed PV plant,

preparing them for employment by giving them

the opportunity to apply their theoretical

knowledge and develop their practical skills in

renewable energies.

In response to COVID-19, AMEA Power

distributed essential food and hygiene products

to 8,500 families in nine countries across Africa,

including 1,100 families in Togo. AMEA Power

also distributed food and hygiene products to a

further 8,000 families during Ramadan this

year, which reached 1,100 families in Togo.

85 22


AFRICAN NEWS CONTENT

TA L K I N G P O I N T

Sebastian Wagner

Founder of the Germany Africa Business

Forum (GABF)

‘Africa is at the Forefront

of Germany’s

Foreign Policy,

Development Agenda’

Germany Africa Business Forum

(GABF) is actively bringing

German investors to the African

continent for some major energy

projects. GABF hosts several

c o n f e r e n c e s a n d w e b i n a r s i n

collaboration with some thought

leaders, government officials and

partners in the energy industry.

Founded in 2017, GABF's main goal is

to change the perspective about Africa

in Germany, position the African

continent as an attractive investment

destination for German-based

businesses. It seeks to promote those

businesses to investors via its vast

connections on the continent.

In an interview, Sebastian Wagner,

Founder of Germany Africa Business

Forum (GABF) said that German energy

companies are looking to solve the

energy deficit in Africa by providing

support through expertise and funding

to power-generating projects.

According to him, African-focused

German energy companies are

committed to partnerships with the

local companies present in the local

countries of operation. These

partnerships help to access the market

easier but as well to benefit the local

community with employment.

"Mozambique is a great opportunity for

German businesses to invest in gas

monetization projects, petrochemicals,

power projects, industrialization and

immediate diversification of the economy

that leads to jobs for the people.

"With our trade mission we want to

introduce on the one hand the high potential

of the Mozambique energy sector, but as

well connect German investors and

c o m p a n i e s w i t h i m p o r t a n t l o c a l

stakeholders.

"Africa is at the forefront of Germany’s

foreign policy and development agenda.

Several companies are active in African

LNG.

"In Equatorial Guinea, two German

contractors are involved in the construction

of West Africa’s first LNG storage and

regasification plant.

"Germany also has strong relations with

Mozambique and seeks opportunities to

invest in the booming LNG industry in that

country," he added.

Speaking about Germany's Direct Foreign

Investments (DFI) in Africa, he said: "Several

Germany traditional DFIs are active in

Africa.

The issue in Africa is connecting the right

investors to the right projects and that is the

gap that private equity financing can fill to

mobilise German funding for the African

energy markets to advance German

investment into the African continent.

“One such firm is Emerging Energy Corp., a

dynamic new player in the Germany-Africa

investment space and is a preferential investor

for the African energy projects.

"Projects are currently active in DRC, South

Africa and Nigeria and a lot of other pipeline

projects in waste to power, solar PV, gas to

power around the continent."

In collaboration with private partners from the

energy industry, the GABF launched a multimillion

Euro funding commitment to invest in

German energy startups that focus on Africa.

The funding commitment, which pledges

funds to German startups with exposure to

African energy projects, will be the first such

intra-regional initiative. “Our initial goal is to

support the investment in German companies

and to start with funding allocations by the end

of this year”, said Sebastian Wagner, cofounder

of the GABF. “Through our partners,

we will immediately get involved in investing in

solutions-driven German startups with

pragmatic business models to solve Africa’s

energy challenges through the provision of

German technology and innovation”, he

added.

Sebastian Wagner is the co-founder of

Germany Africa Business Forum. For more

than 10 years, Sebastian Wagner has been

deeply engaged in the economic development

of the African continent, which led him from

Germany to Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi,

Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, Mozambique,

Zimbabwe and South Africa.

86 22


AFRICA NEWS CONTENT

ABSA Providing Uncollaterised

Funds for African SME Operators

African Small and Medium Scale

E n t r e p r i s e s ( S M E s ) a r e

confronted with various

challenges, ranging from lack of market

access to lack of access to finance and

business development. To address

these challenges, ABSA is providing

uncollateralized funds known as

E n t e r p r i s e & S u p p l y C h a i n

Development (ESD), for SME operators

on the African continent.

“The funds are for local companies,

suppliers and distributors that are

involved in the corporate value chain,”

said Mr David Mparutsa, Head of

E n t e r p r i s e & S u p p l y C h a i n

D e v e l o p m e n t , A b s a R e g i o n a l

Operations.

According to Mparutsa, the bank

provides all Products that banks are

offering under its business banking unit,

adding that it has

a strong focus on access based

financing especially in the oil and gas

industry.

“For instance, if there is an SME who

won a contract from the IOCs. The SME

requires funding to be able to deliver

the contract. On this note, we will be

able to finance the SME based on the

terms and conditions of the contract

without requesting collateral and bank

statements,” Mparutsa said.

“We have very good asset-based

financing products to ensure that SME

can acquire the asset to be able to

deliver contracts. We also provide

87

Purchase Order Finance and working capital

solutions.”

He also informed that the bank is currently

working on building a product that will allow

entrepreneurs in Africa to be able to take up

equity stakes in existing companies.

On the benefits of the ESD programme,

Mparutsa said that it will allow SMEs to

meet with Local Content legislative

requirements, adding that it has no negative

impacts on SMEs.

“In terms of benefits for the ESD program,

the Enterprise and Supply Chain

Development Programs (ESD) will allow

SMEs to meet with the legislative local

content requirement. We can offer noncollateralized

lending at preferential rates;

access to business development skills and

technical capacitation; access to

technologies and market development.

“We aren't just offering to fund but we are

offering affordable financing to suppliers

and contractors participating in these value

chains.

“Another important point is that there is no

negative impact on SMEs. The risks we take

on is the risk of the suppliers. And if there is a

default on a particular facility, we will not go

knocking on the corporate door. The risks

are managed completely by the supplier that

we have financed.

“From the SME point of view, I think the

benefits are quite easy. SMEs will get access

to finance, mentorship, business

Mr David Mparutsa, Head of Enterprise & Supply

Chain Development, Absa Regional Opera ons.

development skills among others to help

grow their businesses to become a

multinational company in the African

region,” he said.

According to him, “ABSA has dedicated

resources for ESD in all present markets to

fund as many SMEs and with dedicated

teams in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania,

Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Ghana,

South Africa.”

Mparutsa noted that ESD goes beyond

banking and funding support through the

provision of non-financial support (Business

Development Support) and Post Loan

Management.

He also said that ABSA has concluded a 4-

y e a r s p o n s o r s h i p o f E n t e r p r i s e

Development Centre (EDC) for four

partners operating in the Uzuma LNG in

Mozambique, adding that the mandate is to

train over 1,000 SMEs over four years.

“For Local Content, our local content

strategy is centralised around six pillars. The

first one is Financial Support, Access to

Market, Key Sponsorship, Skills & Business

Development, Partnerships, and Thought

Leadership events.

“ABSA Concludes 4 Years Sponsorship of

Enterprise Development Centre for the

Area Four Partners Operating in the

Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique.

“Area Four will be operated by JV

ExxonMobil, Eni, CNPC, and the EDC will be

managed by a local company called Mozap.

“The mandate of this Enterprise

Development Centre is to train over 1,000

SMEs over four years to acquire business

skills after which they will be certified on

International Training Certifications,” he

said.

He added, “Focus on Pipelines and Major

Projects. A special focus on the major

projects in East Africa exploring current

updates, challenges due to COVID.

Opportunity for National & International

service companies to share experience and

discuss thoughts for next steps in project

delivery. - $3.5 Billion in East African Crude

Oil Pipeline - Refinery Projects in East Africa

- The Rovuma Basin - Mozambique LNG -

Coral South Floating LNG - Tanzania

Liquefied Natural Gas Project (TLNGP).”


OGR June - July Edition 2021

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