- Your Excellency Mr. Mamadou Sangofowa-Coulibaly, Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, and Member of the APPO Ministerial Council, Your Excellency Mr. Adama Diawara, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, Mr. Esse Kouamé Bienvenu, APPO Executive Board Member for Cote d’Ivoire and chairman of the APPO Executive Board, Dr. Moussa Diaby, Managing Director of INP-HB, Mr. Patrice Kouame Kouassi, Mayor of the Municipality of Yamoussoukro, Mrs. Folashade Adekeye, Director of NNPC Academy and Chair of the Forum of Directors of Oil and Gas Training Institutions of APPO Member Countries, Mr. Fode Kadialy Kante, Director of Chemistry, Petroleum and Energy School (ESCPE) of the INP-HP who doubles as host of this meeting and in-coming Chair of the Forum, distinguished delegates from various APPO Member countries, my colleagues from the APPO Secretariat, Ladies and Gentlemen.
- Excellencies Ministers Sangofowa-Coulibaly and Adama Diawara, on behalf of all the delegates from different APPO Member Countries to this forum, I would like to express deep appreciation to the Government and the good people of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire for the hospitality accorded us since we arrived Abidjan over the weekend. Permit me to use this opportunity to extend our deep appreciation to the President of the Republic H.E Alassane Dramane Ouattara, for the continuous support that APPO has been receiving from Cote d’Ivoire since it became a member of the APPO family in 1989. Let me also thank the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire for initiating the reform of APPA which gave birth to today’s APPO. That singular decision taken in Abidjan was far-sighted and has been responsible for the success that the African oil and gas industry has recorded in the last five years. It has been responsible for our ability to withstand the onslaught on the oil and gas industry by powerful nations who created the climate challenge we are all being forced to contribute to finding solutions to.
- Permit me to welcome all delegates to third edition of the meeting of the Forum of Directors of Oil and Gas institutions of APPO Member Countries. The first edition was held in Skikda, Algeria, and was hosted by SONATRACH in June 2023. The second was hosted by the NNPC Academy in Abuja, Nigeria.
- For the benefit of our first timers, the Forum of Directors of APPO Member Countries Oil and Gas Training Institutions, was conceived as part of the practical solutions to the three imminent challenges that the global energy transition has posed to the African oil and gas industry.
- These challenges were identified after a major study commissioned by APPO in 2020 on the future of the oil and gas industry in Africa in the light of the energy transition. The three challenges were those of finance, technology and expertise and also markets. The study noted that for the over half a century that Africa has been producing oil and gas, it has depended heavily on foreign financing for its oil and gas projects. A similar dependency prevailed in the technology and expertise of the industry, where international oil and service companies controlled the industry. Finally, we have been heavily dependent on external markets for our oil and gas. 75% of the oil that we produce in Africa is exported out of Africa and 45% of the gas too. Yet, our continent has over 600 milloion people living without access to electricity and about 1 billion without access to modern forms of energy.
- With proven crude oil reserve of over 125 billion barrels and over 630 trillion cubic feet of gas, but not controlling the finance of the industry, the technology of the industry nor the markets of the industry is a sure recipe for the death of the industry, especially when those on whem we have been dependent have decided not to fund oil and gas projects especially in Africa, not to continue research, development and innovation in the oil and gas industry but renewables, and not to provide markets for our oil and gas.
- It was these realities that informed APPO’s decision to find practical solutions to the three challenges. For the first challenge we partnered with the Afreximbank to establish the Africa Energy Bank, with Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. Its objective is to raise funds to bridege the finance gap created by the withdrawal of the traditional financiers of Africa’s oil and gas projects. In other words, we are not going to stop producing oil and gas because those on whom we have depended for finance to do oil and gas projects have decided to abandon us.
- The second challenge is the control of the technology and expertise of the industry. As many of you may be aware, many of the established oil and gas institutions like the Imperial College in London, have stopped courses in oil and gas ostensibly because of environmental concerns. We cannot fail to continue to exploit our resources because those on whose technology and expertise we have depended have decided they don’t want us to exploit our resources. The solution is for us to take our own destinies into our own hands.
- One of the practical solutions to the technology and expertise challenge is the creation of the Forum of Directors of Oil and Gas Training Institutions of APPO Member Countries and the Forum of Directors of Research, Development and Innovation of APPO Member Countries.
- The objective of the Training Directors Forum is to provide a platform for knowledge sharing, cooperation and collaboration amongst APPO Member Countries in the field of oil and gas training and capacity building. By regularly bringing the various Directors of our oil and gas training institutions, we hope to expand their horizons and assist raise the standards of what they are imparting in the various institutions.
- I should like to say here that Africa is not as bad as we are being told we are by the developed countries, and sometimes by our own people. There is no doubt that some of our countries have made great progress in oil and gas technology and expertise. This is especially so with some of those that started early. The idea of rotating these meetings is to avail partcipants the opportunity to see what obtains in other countries. Until you travel out to see what others have, you will continue to believe that you have the best.
- In an increasingly interpendent world, Africa cannot afford to be different. Time has come for us collaborate in oil and gas training, in capacity building and in research and development. It makes little rational sense for each APPO Member country to say that it wants to have within its territory all that is needed for it to master the oil and gas industry. The cost is just too prohibitive considering the increasing demands on the meagre resources of our governments.
- Excellencies ladies and gentlemen, our target is that over time, we will be able to identify amongst the institutions we have, one or two that we will designate as centers of excellence in one or more sectors of oil and gas training. When we have done that we shall all give that or those institutions all the support they need to readily provide what we send our experts to learn outside Africa.
- Lest I am misunderstood. Designating an institution as a center of excellence does not mean that others may not aspire to grow to also become centers of excellence. Africa is big and our oil and gas industry in still growing. So we have room for as many centers of excellence as we can produce.
- What we find unwise is duplicating institutions and programmes when with proper planning we can put our meagre resources to better use for the good of all.
- The 2nd meeting of the Forum had established a Working Group with key assignments, including assessing and benchmarking training institutions across Member Countries, harmonizing job roles for structured career development, implementing on-the-job training schemes, and setting up an APPO training database and certification framework. I would like to sincerely thank the Working Group for its dedication and commitment in advancing these important tasks.
- Collaboration lies at the heart of the Forum’s success. No single country or institution has all the answers, but by joining hands, pooling resources, and aligning our efforts, we can collectively address the common challenges facing Africa’s oil and gas industry. Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient, and competitive workforce that can secure Africa’s place in the evolving global energy landscape.
- As we look ahead, I urge all Forum members to be proactive, not just in participating in these meetings, but in ensuring the implementation of the Forum’s recommendations within your respective countries and institutions. We must also work to strengthen both bilateral and multilateral partnerships, as these will be critical in amplifying the impact of our collective efforts and ensuring that no Member Country is left behind.
- Let me assure you that the APPO Secretariat stands ready to provide the required support, assistance, and coordination to help achieve these important goals. We are fully committed to working alongside you every step of the way. I look forward to fruitful deliberations at this meeting and to the tangible progress we will make together for the benefit of Africa’s oil and gas industry.
- I thank you for your kind attention.
