On the eve of the seventh summit of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), which opens April 2 in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea and African capital of energy throughout of the year 2019, Financial Afrik met with Mahaman Laouan Gaya, Secretary General of the association. For the high Nigerien framework, African oil and gas producing countries must unite to better defend their objectives in a global context of price volatility. As Mr. Gaya says, the Malabo meeting marks the end of institutional reforms and the launching of a new organization. Interview.
The summit of the Appo opens this April 2 in Malabo. What are the main themes and objectives?
Indeed, from March 28 to April 05, 2019, the APPO organizes several events in Malabo. We will have successively the meeting of the Legal Ad Hoc Committee, the meeting of the Directors General of the National Hydrocarbon Companies, the very first ordinary meeting of the Executive Council of the APPO, the ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers and the 7th edition of the CAPE ( African Congress on Oil and Exhibition). These are meetings and other statutory activities of the APPO, but also the end of institutional reform and the launching of a new organization.
Why is the meeting held in Malabo?
The Government of Equatorial Guinea has called for these APPO events to take place as part of the Year of Energy in Equatorial Guinea. It should be recalled that in August 2018, the Equatorial Guinean Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, HE Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, launched the initiative ” 2019, Year of Energy in Equatorial Guinea ”, of which the objective is to position Malabo as the African energy capital throughout 2019. For the Government of Equatorial Guinea, this initiative aims first to promote investment opportunities in major energy projects. in Equatorial Guinea and Africa, and then the government wants to use its energy diplomacy in the service of the African continent. On this occasion, we are waiting in Malabo for the Ministers and Plenipotentiaries in charge of hydrocarbons of all Member Countries of the APPO, the first leaders of world energy organizations (OPEC, GECF, FIE, …), Directors General of the Petroleum Companies African and international, industrialists and experts in the hydrocarbon sector, … as I mentioned earlier, these events are similar to the African Hydrocarbons Olympic Games and will constitute a real global rallying point for energy players. and oil.
The APPO was created in 1987. Can you describe its missions and main achievements?
The APPO (Organization of African Petroleum Producers) established on January 27, 1987 in Lagos (Nigeria) is an African Intergovernmental Organization, whose objective is to be the platform for collaboration, cooperation, exchange of experiences, sharing of knowledge and skills as well as promoting joint initiatives among the oil-producing countries of the African continent.
From its creation to today, the organization has had to make some achievements, including the creation and institutionalization of the CAPE (African Congress on Oil and Exhibition), the Comparative Study of the Legal and Contractual Framework in terms of Hydrocarbons in the APPA Member Countries, the creation of the APPA Fund now ASEC, the creation of the African Petroleum Institute ” Rilwanu Lukman ”, etc … Despite everything, it was recognized that after more quarter, the Organization has not met the expectations of the Member Countries and by its somewhat outdated governance style, a total lack of visibility at the national, regional and international levels and a very In the major international decision-making centers, it was clear that rescue measures were needed to reframe it in the new global oil and energy environment, and better meet the challenges of the world. e time. In view of this bitter acknowledgment, the Council of Ministers took the decision to undertake a profound institutional reform. As soon as we took office at the head of the Association in July 2015, we embarked on this reform and following many ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Committee of Experts and the Councils of Ministers, it was finally adopt the project of this reform. In the resolutions that followed the various Councils of Ministers, it should be noted, among other things, the change of name of APPA (Association of African Petroleum Producers) which will now be called ” APPO ”, acronym for ” African Petroleum Producers ‘Organization’ and in French ” Organization of African Petroleum Producers ”. The relocation of Secretariat activities to Abuja for a one-year transition period has allowed the implementation of the reform and it is the Council of Ministers that will be held on April 2, 2019 in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) which will proceed to the official launch of the new Organization. Our goal, as you see, is to make APPO one of the largest and most powerful organizations on the continent.
What relationship does your organization have with OPEC?
We were at the end of November 2018 in Vienna (Austria) at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of OPEC where a very large presence of African delegations was visible. In addition to the seven OPEC African countries (Algeria, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Nigeria), they were also present as observers, other countries including Egypt, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, not to mention the General Secretariat of APPO. In his closing speech, the OPEC Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Emirati Minister of Petroleum, HE Mr. Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazrouei warmly welcomed the massive presence of Africans and asked the APPO to work for that at the next meeting of OPEC, the African presence will be more marked. Africa’s oil-producing countries have a combined total production of nearly 10 million barrels a day, and the continent as a whole has an eminently abundant potential. If Africa were to consider itself as a single producer, it is clear that in the coming years, it could challenge the current oil powers and become a key player in the international oil scene.
From this consideration, the African presence could consolidate OPEC’s policy and position on the world oil scene. A greater presence of African countries in the cartel could, tomorrow, better than today, influence favorably the price of a barrel of oil. Clearly, the OPA shares with OPEC the concern to promote policy and management strategy initiatives in all areas of the oil industry. In view of this convergence of policies, we therefore agreed with OPEC to work to translate the new vision of the APPO into tangible and beneficial results for our Member Countries.