To support the regionalization of African oil & gas commodities, the Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2023 will be organizing a Panel Discussion on Sustainable Cross Border Value Creation. The session will look at successful cross-border energy trade in Africa and draw lessons on the best ways to integrate African markets around key commodities such as natural gas. 

The discussion will welcome Mlandzabi Boyce, CEO of the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company (ROMPCO), Africa’s most successful transnational gas pipeline. The pipeline was commissioned in 2004 and has ensured a steady supply of Mozambican gas to South Africa ever since. It also paved the way for the growth of gas-fueled power stations in Mozambique, thereby improving the reliability of the country’s power sector. 

Mohamed Zine, Director at Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) will also join the panel. Morocco is currently exploring several options to import gas, including developing the mega-billion dollars Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP). Until now, the country has relied on the Gazoduc Maghreb-Europe (GME) which provides a link from Algeria to Spain via Morocco. 

Paul Eardley-Taylor, a seasoned banker and Head of Southern Africa’s Oil & Gas Coverage at Standard Bank will bring a finance perspective on cross-border pipelines on the continent. 

Along with the roll out of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the appetite for cross-border energy trade is on the rise. Several pipelines are currently under construction, including the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) between Uganda and Tanzania, and the Niger-Benin Oil Export Pipeline. 

Several projects have also been proposed or are under-discussion to trade gas commodities, including between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, and between Tanzania and Kenya. Nigeria, which holds Africa’s biggest gas reserves, has put even bigger ambitions on the table as it seeks to develop mega pipelines including the NMGP and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline (TSP) via Niger and Algeria. 

The Panel Discussion will shed light on all these developments and explore the opportunities they provide for producers, consumers, and investors.  
 

About Africa Oil Week
 
Africa Oil Week is the meeting place of choice for the continent’s upstream oil and gas sector. Now entering its 29th year, the event brings together governments, national and international oil companies, independents, investors, the G&G community and service providers. Africa Oil Week takes place in the heart of Cape Town at the Cape Town International Convention Centre 2 (CTICC2) from 9-13 October 2023.