The APPO was set up to serve as a platform for cooperation and harmonization of efforts, collaboration, sharing of knowledge and expertise among African oil-producing countries. The idea to create this organization dates to the 1980s. At that time, informal meetings were held between the African OPEC member countries, Algeria, Gabon, Libya and Nigeria. These consultations were decided in response to an oil market situation that was confronting developing countries, particularly oil-importing African countries, with supply difficulties. These countries therefore decide to set aside 4% of their production to meet these needs.
From idea to reality
The first meeting of this group of four countries took place in Libreville, Gabon, in October 1984. Subsequently, consultations were initiated with other non-OPEC oil-producing African states to integrate them into the association. In June 1985, in Brioni, former Yugoslavia, another meeting was held. It was during this consultation that the leaders decided to formalize the melting pot. Subsequently, Libreville hosted the first formal meeting of the representatives of the founding countries to draft the statutes of the Association.
This summit took place on 21 and 22 April 1986. In January 1987, eight African oil-producing countries – Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Libya and Nigeria – met in Lagos, Nigeria, to formally create the African Petroleum Producers’ Association: these were the founding countries. The Organization’s headquarters are in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
An Organization that has matured over time
Today, the number of APPO Members Countries has increased from eight in 1987 to eighteen. These are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. Between 2014 and 2019, the Association underwent a major reform requiring a critical review of its mission and vision, its organizational structure, and even a name change. Thus, from African Petroleum Producers’ Association (APPA), it became the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO). The reform was in response to the rapid pace of change in the global energy landscape. Today, the organization remains open to joining other like-minded African countries. In 2021, it welcomed the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a South American country, as Honorary Member. This historic membership makes Venezuela the first non-African country to join the APPO, proof, if proof were needed, of the Organization’s openness to the world.
