4th Meeting of the OPEC – Africa Energy Dialogue

The 4th High Level Meeting of the OPEC–Africa Energy Dialogue took place today in Abuja on the sidelines of the 8th Edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), hosted under the gracious patronage of HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The meeting was co-chaired by: HE Haitham Al Ghais, OPEC Secretary General, HE Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO); Mr. Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA); and Mr. Yagouba Traoré, Head, Policy Planning and Strategy, AFREC, who participated online. All reaffirmed their commitment towards enhancing multilateral collaboration with more focus on Africa.

In his opening remarks, HE Al Ghais underscored the crucial role of OPEC Member Countries from the African continent in supporting the Organization’s common objectives and playing a pivotal part in championing the cause of sustainable market stability. HE Al Ghais noted that “for Africa, the future looks bright, with an estimated 120 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and around 18 trillion standard cubic meters of natural gas” in the context of healthy world oil demand growth, forecast to reach 120 mb/d by 2050, with no peak on the horizon, as outlined by the latest OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO).

HE Al Ghais emphasized that Africa will continue to be at the center of ongoing efforts in meeting global rising energy needs, while stressing the significance of investment and the role of policymakers and collective industry stakeholder engagement in securing necessary funding to develop these resources, estimated at around $17.4 trillion or $640 billion per year until 2050. In closing, he pointed out that global engagement remains essential to reversing the scourge of energy poverty, which negatively impacts the well-being of billions around the globe that lack access to clean cooking fuels.

In his opening remarks, HE Dr. Farouk welcomed the parties to the Dialogue and reaffirmed that the Dialogue continues to be an invaluable opportunity for us to deliberate on the future of Africa’s energy sector and strengthen collaboration between OPEC and African energy institutions. He added that Africa is rich in oil and gas resources which contributes significantly to producing countries’ economies, and hence Africa should take control of the industry and excel in developing the required technology and expertise and provide innovative funding solutions to finance O&G projects and operations. In this regard, he briefed the meeting on the advancement made in the establishment of Africa Energy Bank which is tailored to support the O&G industry in the Continent.

Mr. Anibor Kragha also expressed ARDA’s pride in being part of the Dialogue, which he sees as a major platform for ensuring that Africa’s energy needs are met via robust initiatives that balance security and sustainability for the continent. He then emphasized the need for further collaboration amongst OPEC and pan-African energy institutions like APPO, ARDA and AFREC to promote an integrated, pan-African energy industry to meet the vastly increased energy demand required to fuel the continent’s industrialization. ARDA remains committed to promoting actionable frameworks to support investments across the African downstream energy industry that will ensure value-addition and reduction of petroleum products imports in the coming years while achieving a lower carbon footprint for the sector.

On behalf of Mr. Rashid Ali Abdallah, Executive Director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC), Mr. Yagouba Traoré, Head, Policy Planning and Strategy, AFREC, emphasized the need to continue and foster collaboration among global energy and African energy organizations, to ensure data and knowledge sharing and develop energy markets throughout the African Continent. He added that African Union Common Position on Energy Access and Just Transition adopted in July 2022 calls for the development of both renewables and non-renewable energy sources including oil and gas as a short- and medium-term solution. “AFREC has made significant progress in the promotion of expansion of regional domestic market for crude oil, oil products and natural gas, starting with Eastern Africa where an in-depth study is being concluded.” Mr Traoré said.