KACHIKWU TO ADDRESS ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIENCY IN SUB-SAHARA AFRICA

ABUJA, Nigeria – Key operators in the Sub-Sahara oil, gas and energy industry are preparing to congregate with the aim to find answers to decades of lack of clear policy direction among governments in Africa to support deployment of key infrastructures to harness its abundant energy resources. Concerned about projections by United Nations that Africa’s population will hit 2.3 billion by 2050 and International Monetary Fund, IMF, projections that the continent will average 6.5 per cent Gross Domestic Product, GDP growth, stakeholders in the industry are now looking at ways to see that adequate energy supply is produced to support those projects.

To achieve this, an energy summit, is being put together to build effective multi-stakeholder partnerships, particularly with private sector across Sub-Sahara Africa to facilitate needed investments into the oil and gas industries and explore possibilities of the gas revolution in the region.

Tagged, ‘Sub-Sahara Africa Oil, Gas  and Energy Summit, (SSAOGES 2018) billed to hold this October in Nairobi, Kenya, conveners of project said the forum is expected to open honest conversations among stakeholders, policy makers, infrastructure development financiers, international oil companies, national companies, power generating companies, renewable energy and power distribution companies with the goal of fashioning out efficient ways to begin to develop the needed infrastructure for the energy of the future.

Briefing the media in Lagos, on the upcoming event, Mr. Oladeji Olawale, convener of the summit, said Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, has confirmed his participation and would address experts on prospects of investing in those critical sectors.

Olawale underscored the importance of the summit as he stressed that when we put the projections of the UN and IMF side by side, it shows that Africa has a lot to do to achieve economic prosperity and energy efficiency.

“With increasing population growth comes increase in demand for energy. Africa as a continent, though, with enough energy reserves to serve its teeming population does not have the infrastructure to produce enough energy to meet the continents need. This scenario will only get worse if urgent steps are not taken to ensure energy efficiency”, he said.

Olawale, further explained that the summit is organized around presentations, panel discussions and breakaway sessions evaluating identified themes bothering on oil and gas and energy infrastructure in Sub-Sahara Africa.

The summit will help evaluate the penetration of the oil and gas industry into various parts of the economy, foster and build inter regional partnerships by focusing on cooperation among nations in the Sub-Sahara Africa, explore and create better connections between the gas industry and other domestic sectors, said Olawale.