1 week ago
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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), is eyeing opportunities in key upstream oil and projects that recently attained Final Investment Decision(FID) status.
Some of the projects include; Shell’s $5.5 billion Bonga North deep-water project, construction license of UTM FLNG as well as projects for gas distribution across clusters recently sanctioned by the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
PETAN Chairman, Mr. Wole Ogunsanya in his address at the 9th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) in Lagos yesterday, with the theme “ Building Africa’s Future: Advancing Local Content and Sustainable Development in the Oil and Gas Industry”, said as technical and professional service providers that have just marked three decades of excellence in the oil and gas industry, PETAN is excited about several final investment decisions that have been successfully closed.
“We also acknowledge notable developments in natural gas exploration and LNG exports with Senegal’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG reaching its first gas production, and the Republic of Congo’s first LNG exports to Italy from the Congo LNG project,”.
The association applauded South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco who, he said, are at the forefront of wind and solar energy development, saying the African continent has what it takes in – human and resources – capacity to exploit the huge abundance of energy sources that we are naturally endowed with.
“We are encouraged by the strategic partnerships that we are forging, including new PSCs signed by PanoroEnergy in Equatorial Guinea and BW Energy in Gabon, highlighting how international collaborations are accelerating energy development and creating new opportunities for exploration and production – the driving force behind this ever expanding conference that we are so proud of hosting for the past nine years.
Our continued and increased engagements are key to addressing the gaps that have long hindered the growth of Africa’s energy sector,’’.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr. Felix Ogbe in his presentation titled: “Sub-Saharan Africa Local Content Collaboration Strategy,” stressed that as the global oil and gas industry continues to evolve, it is imperative for the region to adopt a unified approach in strengthening local content development, advancing industrialization, and fostering sustainable economic growth throughout the continent.
He disclosed that over the years, Sub-Saharan African nations have made notable strides in local content development, with countries like Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and Uganda implementing policies to boost indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector.
He, however, regretted that fragmented implementation continues to hinder collective progress.
According to him, a collaborative strategy among Sub-Saharan African nations would foster the sharing of best practices and enhance cross-border partnerships that can drive the competitiveness of our indigenous players.
“Key pillars to Africa’s collaboration strategy must include the following: harmonization of local content Policies, human capital development, Investment in Infrastructure, provision of funding for Iocal companies and technology transfer,’’.
He declared that any collaboration strategy is dead on arrival if a comprehensive legal framework isn’t developed to guide sustainable growth.
Hence, he stated that there is a need to develop a robust local content framework that positions the region for long-term economic prosperity. This, he said, can be fostered through collaborative efforts of APPO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Africa Union.
“In this regard, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is one critical legal framework that can be leveraged to achieve collaborative local content strategy in Africa.
The advent of AfCFTA created the world’s largest free trade area by integrating 1.3 billion people across 54 African countries, with the objective of tapping into a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over $3 trillion,”.
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