Invited by His Excellency the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Tarek El Molla, the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, His Excellency Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim was in Cairo to attend the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) 2022. This visit is also part of the visits undertaken by the Secretary General to Member Countries in order to sensitize on the current and Future challenges of the Oil and Gas sector and discuss and seek their guidance on the activities of the Organization.
On this occasion, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources granted audience to the APPO delegation which was led by the Secretary General, on February 13, 2022.
During the audience, the Secretary General of APPO expressed gratitude to Egypt not only for its important role in the reform of APPA into APPO, but also and especially its leadership role in conducting the Study on the Future of the Oil and Gas Industry in Africa in light of the Energy Transition. The Secretary General expressed the hope that Egypt will respond more positively to calls for nominations from APPO Member Countries to come and contribute to the growth of the Secretariat by taking up appointments.
For Dr. Omar Farouk, the Energy Transition, as defined and planned for implementation by the strong advocates of energy transition poses a serious challenge to oil and gas dependent developing economies, particularly in Africa, where, although endowed with these resources, they do not have the means to exploit and market them without resorting to foreign dependence. The Secretary General noted with concern that the agenda and discourse in energy transition is skewed against poor developing countries, especially those whose economies are heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues. He expressed the hope that with Africa hosting the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, Conference of the Parties, COP 27, in Egypt in November this year, an opportunity will be provided to countries whose economies and social life are heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue to articulate their position on the energy transition.
Highlighting some of the findings and recommendations of the study on the Future of the Oil and Gas industry in Africa in the light of energy transition, the Secretary General noted that four areas constitute serious challenges to the industry in Africa. These are project funding, technology, markets and technical expertise. On funding, he commended the role played by HE Tarek El Mollah in brokering a partnership agreement between the Africa Energy Investment Corporation, AEICorp, and AFREXIMBANK, where the latter is to assist the former in raising and managing funds to support the industry in Africa. The SG also used the opportunity to appeal to Egypt to pay its subscription to the AEICorp seed capital.
In his response, His Excellency Tarek El Molla commended the Secretary General and his team for the new orientation and professionalism that they have brought to APPO in the last couple of years, and assured that Egypt will continue to give all the support necessary to make APPO succeed.
On the subscription to the capital of AEICORP, His Excellency Tarek El Molla promised to do everything possible so that his country subscribes before the end of the current year.
The Secretary General of APPO used the opportunity of this visit in Egypt to also meet with the different stakeholders of the energy sector in Egypt, to share thoughts about the industry on the continent especially in this era of energy transition. The Secretary General used the opportunity of the meetings to extend invitations to the various oil and gas companies in Egypt to participate in the APPO organized triennial 8th edition of the Africa Petroleum Conference and Exhibition, CAPE viii, scheduled to, hold in Member Country Angola in May this year. The Secretary General pointed out that the first meeting of the Chief Executives of APPO Member Countries National Oil Companies is also scheduled to take place during CAPE VIII.
The Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) is the leading oil, gas and energy exhibition and conference in Egypt, North Africa and the Mediterranean.
On its fifth anniversary, EGYPS 2022 is the region’s leading platform for realizing the industry’s commitment to producing cleaner sustainable hydrocarbons and enhancing its role in the energy transition.
