In a major step to foster a more collaborative, innovative, and sustainable petroleum industry in Africa, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has unveiled an African Petroleum Regulators’ Forum (AFRIPERF) to move the industry forward.
The Commission unveiled the AFRIPERF at its maiden roundtable on the sidelines of the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2024 currently holding in Abuja.
According to NUPRC, the AFRIPERF roundtable, with the theme: “Fostering Collaboration and Sustainability in Africa’s Petroleum industry”, was launched to promote collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the adoption of best practices across the continent for a secured energy future.
Speaking during the launch, the Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe said, the AFRIPERF signified African’s commitment to working together to overcome common challenges to achieve national aspirations in the development and utilisation of hydrocarbon resources.
“Currently, Africa holds substantial oil and gas reserves. The continent’s proven oil reserves are estimated to be around 125 billion barrels, representing approximately 7-9 per cent of the world’s total oil reserves while the proven natural gas reserves are estimated at around 620 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).
“Aside from hydrocarbon resources, Africa is blessed with potentials for green and blue hydrogen, solar, wind, biomass and critical minerals for development of clean energy technologies and growing population pre-dominated by young people,” he said.
Engr. Komolafe said, with the population of 1.49 billion compared to a combined population of Europe and U.S estimated at 1.1 billion, Africa had the second largest population among the continents of the world, adding the population is expected to rapidly in the coming decades.
Unfortunately, he said, Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which currently stands at three trillion dollars is very low compared to that of Europe at 22 trillion dollars and U.S at 26.9 trillion dollars according to World Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
These statistics, according to him, underscored Africa’s significant role in the global youth demographic and highlighted the need for collaboration for targeted policies and investments that would support this growing segment of the population.
The NUPRC boss noted that the need for a unified platform for regulators of the African Petroleum Industry conceived during the African Energy Leadership Forum and Awards at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, USA, In May 2023.
“As we are all aware, we are faced with
rapidly evolving global energy landscape, it is therefore imperative that we leverage our collective strengths to secure the appropriate energy source for the development of our nations and benefit of our people.
“The recent surge in hydrocarbon discoveries across Africa, coupled with the pressing need for a sustainable energy transition, demands a concerted effort from all of us.
“AFRIPERF will enable us to address these challenges head-on, ensuring that our regulatory frameworks are robust, our policies forward-thinking, and our actions aligned with global best practices,” he stressed.
On the objectives of AFRIPERF, he said it would promote investment and cooperation among regulators of African petroleum producing countries and facilitate knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and the dissemination of best practices.
Also speaking, Mr.Joseph Ogunshola,
Deputy Director Reservoir Management and Unitisation/Energy Transition and Carbon Monetisation, NUPRC said collaborative efforts are required to drive the objectives of AFRIPERF.
In a presentation entitled, “Fostering Collaborative and Sustainability of Africa’s Petroleum Industry: Establishment of the Africa Petroleum Regulatory Forum”, Ogunshola disclosed that 60 per cent of Africa’s export earnings were from hydrocarbons while its potential was driven by regulatory practices.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Petroleum Commission, Ghana, Mr Ergbert Faibille, applauded NUPRC for the initiative, and pledged the Ghanaian commitment to ensuring its success.
Mr. Faibille noted that “the forum will enable the regulators in the continent to think through what our prospects are, what our challenges are and ensure that Africa is not left behind in the global energy industry”.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director-General, Petroleum Commission, the Gambia, Kanni Touray, who was happy to be part of the forum, said, it would enable the Gambia to learn from Nigeria.
