Africa Oil Week closes with strong ambition for future investments

Africa Oil Week, Africa’s biggest and most prestigious upstream conference ended on Thursday with high-value deals, and strong intent for future investments in the continent. The event, which was held from Nov.8 to 11,  2021 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai - making it the first edition in AOW’s 27-year history to be held outside of the continent - was supported by key sponsors including TotalEnergies, Eni, ADNOC, Chevron, Shell and Equinor, among others.

With more than 45 Ministers and Government leaders attending the power packed event, along with two Commissioners from the Africa Union, and several NGOs, AOW 2021 included comprehensive discussions about the future of the continent both in terms of achieving the green agenda, and zero emission targets, but also using the oil and gas revenues to improve healthcare, socio-economic developments, and the standard of living of the African people.

Currently home to 1.2 billion people, with an additional estimated population of 600 million below the age of 25 by 2050, the continent relies on the energy sector to power wealth creation, entrepreneurship, private sector expansion and industrialisation. Staying committed to the UN SDGs and the African Union Agenda 2063, the organisers of Africa Oil Week also announced launch of the inaugural Green Energy Africa Summit 2022 (GEA Summit) on the first day of the conference. The GEA Summit will focus on driving investments into low-carbon energy for Africa, by bringing together key stakeholders to facilitate innovation and dialogue, driving capital for the socio-economic development of Africa.

With the UAE’s investments in Africa reaching $5.64 billion in recent years, AOW will serve as a platform to fuel future collaborations and partnerships that can result in additional high-value deals in the energy sector. The participation of companies from the Middle East and the GCC at the Africa Oil week are testimony to the Middle East’s continued interest in partnering with the African energy sector.

In the inaugural keynote address at the AOW 2021, Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure in the UAE, emphasised the UAE’s long-standing ties with African nations and highlighted the country’s position as an emerging global financial hub.

Al Mazrouei said, “Africa is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Additionally, the huge economic transformation in the energy sector in the continent, makes it ideal for investments from around the globe, especially the UAE and the Middle East. As a global benchmark in industrial development through the efficient use of energy resources, the UAE is a regional leader. We have a huge interest in the African market, and we see that the interest has been mutual, with Uganda recently signing new business deals across sectors, including renewable energy, at Expo 2020 Dubai. We are certain that Africa Oil Week will act as a platform to facilitate more such investments and forge greater partnerships between international investors and the African public and private sector. As a close partner of Africa, we hope to facilitate capital flow that will result in socio-economic development for Africa and the Middle East.

Al Mazrouei added, “The Oil and Gas sector has seen unprecedented volatility since 2020 due to the pandemic. However, as the economy rebounds, we are witnessing recovery. Global economic growth for this year has remained strong, especially in the second quarter of 2021. In the UAE, moving forward to 2022, the Central Bank of the UAE estimates that the country will experience significant growth in terms of the GDP. It is evident to the world that oil and gas are significant sources of primary energy supply and strongly impact economic growth and the development of the industrial sector.”

His Excellency Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman, Dubai Council for Marina and Maritime Industries (DCMMIEmirates) said, “We have shared long and close ties with Africa, and this has been a wonderful opportunity for us to revive those ties, at least in collaborating with the oil and gas sector. It was enlightening for me to attend the Africa Oil Week and be part of some of the national energy showcases, where I was able to learn of key opportunities in the African Energy sector and meet with the ministers of some of the African countries from Kenya, Mauritania, Ghana and have a face-to-face discussion with them about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. By sharing knowledge and expertise, we will be able to unlock new doors for some valuable deals between the two sides.”

One of the key challenges being faced by the Energy sector in Africa is the problem of access to energy, where a large majority of the population have no access to cooking gas or electricity.

Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union highlighted, “Africa is rich in natural and nearly all forms of energy resources, but we have a problem with energy access. About 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity and 900 million to clean cooking, so that is a key area that we are working on. We need to consolidate our efforts to ensure that we have the appropriate expertise and technology to meet the clean energy demands of the African people. We are making a conscious effort to transform Africa into a green continent by introducing programmes and formulating policies that will steer us in the right direction; collaboration is key in this regard. Africa has a young population, which is estimated to rise dramatically in the next few decades bringing Africa’s population to about 2.5 billion people by 2050.”