The 4th High Level Meeting of the OPEC–Africa Energy Dialogue took place the 25 February 2025 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 chaired by H.E. Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO). The OPEC delegation was led by H.E Dr. Haitham Al Ghais, OPEC Secretary General, while Mr. Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA) led ARDA delegation. AFREC participated online with Mr. Rashid Ali Abdallah, Executive Director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC) represented by Mr. Yagouba Traoré, Head, Policy Planning and Strategy, AFREC. All reaffirmed their commitment towards enhancing multilateral collaboration with more focus on Africa.
In his opening remarks, H.E. 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.
In his remarks, HE Al Ghais thanked APPO Secretariat for hosting the Dialogue and the other African Parties for their participation and reiterate that OPEC in keen to develop further its Dialogue and collaboration with African Countries and Energy Institutions with the purpose of understanding the development and requirements aiming at developing a common position on the various challenges facing the oil industry.
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.
Mr Yagouba Traoré first announced that a new Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure was appointed by the African Union. He then 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.
The Parties resolved to strengthen cooperation in the areas of Carbon reduction technology, environmental concerns and sustainability of funding the industry in the African Continent.
The Dialogue commended the new Commissioner of Energy and Infrastructure for her appointment and wished to have her onboard in the next High-Level Meeting planned to take place during the 1st quarter 2026.
