African Energy Chamber: It Is Time to Create Aggressive Market-Driven Policies That Spur Economic Growth

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH
AFRICA – EQS Newswire – 11 October 2019 – The African Energy Chamber advocated for better regulatory
frameworks, local content development, women empowerment and cross-border
cooperation at the grand opening of Africa Oil & Power in Cape Town this
week.

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Attended by hundreds of senior government
officials and energy executives from across Africa and the world, the Africa
Oil & Power Conference & Exhibition is seeking solutions to make energy
work better for Africans and investors. It was opened by leading industry
figures such as H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and
Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, Minister of
Petroleum and Energies of Senegal, and Nj Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the
African Energy Chamber and CEO of the Centurion Law Group.

 

Delivering the opening remarks,
African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman Nj Ayuk addressed key issues facing
the industry’s future, reminding the continent that it needs and must do better
to provide energy and jobs to all Africans. “We are here at AOP not only
to highlight success stories but also to have an honest conversation with each
other on what needs to be done for our industry, and follow a roadmap to
successful implementation on core issues such as regulations and local content
policies, the empowerment of women, infrastructure development, cross-border
cooperation and fiscal frameworks,” declared Nj Ayuk.

 

On the issue of regulations and
the creation of a better enabling environment for investors and businesses, the
African Energy Chamber insisted on the need for fair regulations that are
supportive of local industries whole encouraging international investments.
“Look to Ghana,” said Nj Ayuk. “The country has built an oil and
gas regulatory framework from scratch and built a reputation for transparency
and regulatory certainty. Its projects are getting off the drawing board and
Ghana is already a serious African producer. Regulations have to be
progressive, so what matters is to implement regulations that set the ground
for the development of a sustainable, local content-oriented and jobs-creating
industry.”

 

“On local content, look to
Nigeria,” he added. “It has used its oil and gas as a jumping off
point for overall economic development and building up domestic capacities from
the ground up while providing the right opportunities for the establishment and
growth of strong local companies across the value chain.”

 

At the core of the African
Energy Chamber’s message was also a call to women empowerment across Africa’s
energy industry. From creating strong educational and training programmes to
implementing progressive policies in the workplace, the Chamber has advocated
for better policies that provide women equal opportunities in the workplace and
across the industry. “On woman empowerment, look to South Africa, which
boasts some of the strongest leaders in Africa’s oil and gas sector,”
declared Nj Ayuk. “Diversity will change our industry for the best and
needs to be a priority.”

 

The African Energy Chamber
closed its opening remarks on the issues of infrastructure development and
cross-border cooperation. In many cases, a lack of infrastructure is severely
holding back economic and social development, including a lack of roads,
pipelines, ports and airports is stopping exploration and production in its
tracks; and delaying the progress of otherwise economically viable progress.
Meanwhile, cross-border cooperation is the key to unlocking the potential of
the continent. “On cross-border cooperation, look to Senegal and
Mauritania,” said Nj Ayuk. “They both have already shown Africa that
putting its differences aside and working towards co-developing projects is
beneficial for African economies and their people. The GTA project is a
landmark project in that regard, and one that will profoundly impact the
socio-economic development in both countries. The major step to encourage
future such collaboration and projects is to simply keep the dialogue open and
engage more.”