Africa Oil Week To Highlight Unrivalled Opportunities, Drive Investment And Deal-Making Across Africa

Africa Oil Week, the leading oil and gas show in Africa, has announced a stellar line-up of speakers for the 27th edition, scheduled to be held from 8th and 11th November, 2021, at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

Attendees can look forward to engaging and forward-thinking discussions designed to support the African upstream as it emerges from two years of transition and disruption caused by an accelerated energy transition and the global pandemic. Uniting under the theme of “Succeeding in a Changed Market”, speakers will tackle topics on how the industry has responded to the evolving market landscape. They will identify opportunities for new players and high-value assets on the horizon and analyse the macro-effects of the global energy transition on the African upstream.

The senior line-up of 150 speakers includes Thomas Camara, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies, Côte d’Ivoire; Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration and Production, TotalEnergies; Chaher Boulakhras, CEO, Sonelgaz; Rahul Dhir, CEO, Tullow Oil; Simon Flowers, Chairman and Chief Analyst, Wood Mackenzie and Irene Waage Basili, CEO, Shearwater GeoServices.

The event has also received overwhelming support from leading organisations across the globe, including Eni, Chevron, Shell, Equinor, Perenco, ReconAfrica, Seplat Energy, Africa Oil Corp, PGS and Fugro.

In line with the theme, the event will stimulate upstream transactions, drive investments into African energy projects, and facilitate new partnerships and networking opportunities for the African upstream. Alongside a week full of networking functions, roundtables and in-person meetings, 2021 sees the inclusion of the revived “Africa Independents Forum” a platform designed to showcase the most exciting farm-out, JV and asset opportunities on the continent. Content briefings dedicated to energy financing will help delegates capitalise on business and project opportunities presented by the energy transition.

Foday Mansaray, Director-General, Petroleum Directorate, Sierra Leone, said, “We look forward to participating in the event and presenting opportunities that Sierra Leone has, and reuniting with key industry stakeholders from leading global organisations, governments and business partners from Africa and the UAE once again at this important event.”

Africa Oil Week will spotlight the critical role innovation and technology play in Africa’s future energy landscape, explicitly examining how it can be utilised to safeguard and strengthen Africa’s upstream portfolios from future disruption. An expert panel including representatives from Maersk Drilling, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger will unpack this during a high-level conference session.

Africa Oil Week will also maximise its one-year placement in the UAE to create an investment channel between the two regions by bringing in the Middle Eastern financial community to the event to showcase the countless prospective energy opportunities Africa has to offer. Another interesting session will be dedicated to sharing best practices across the Middle East and African upstreams, with Alexandre Araman, Principal Analyst – Middle East Upstream Research, Wood Mackenzie and Eng. Abdul-Amir Ajmi, External Affairs and Value Creation Director, Petroleum Directorate Oman (PDO) scheduled to present.

Paul Sinclair, Vice President of Energy and Director of Government Relations, Africa Oil Week & Future Energy Series Africa, said, “The Africa Oil Week conference provides four days of pioneering insights, from ministerial panels to strategic outlooks and sessions designed to drive investment into the African upstream. The agenda, as always, is focused on strategic business intelligence and deal-making opportunities. The past two years have seen an accelerated transition towards clean energy solutions. At this year’s edition, our curated programme has an impressive line-up of industry experts who will explore opportunities created by the energy transition for the African Upstream.”

The event will also serve as an ideal platform for experts to work on an economic blueprint to harmonise energy development in Africa to help achieve a clean energy future for the continent and ensure the affordability of clean energy projects and funds available to facilitate the transition.