The African Petroleum Producers Organization, APPO, has raised concerns over the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, discriminatory policies toward making hydrocarbons a primary energy sources, stating that such move is an attempt to sabotage crude oil production across the region.
This is coming even as the organization described Nigeria’s local content policy as a model worthy of emulation by other African nations.
Raising this concern in Lagos, at the ongoing Sub Saharan Africa International Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC), organized by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), the Secretary General of APPO, Dr. Omar Ibrahim, said: “It is regrettable that member countries of the OECD had begun to initiate discriminatory policies towards hydrocarbons as primary energy sources.
“Such a move will discourage research and investment in the sector – actions which would eventually make fossil fuels less accessible and more expensive and position other sources of energy as viable alternatives.
“These developments are taking place at a time that Africa is making more findings in oil and gas, hence making it imperative for African nations to take their destinies into their our own hands and pursue the development of local capacities to operate the oil industry successfully and use energy to fuel the national, sub-regional or continental economies.”
He acknowledged that significant progress has been made by some countries, pointing out that “Nigeria’s example is worth emulating. I wish to commend the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for the support it has been giving to a number of African countries.”
Ibrahim underscored APPO’s belief on the “need to domesticate the oil and gas technology on our continent. No nation or continent will transfer technology to us. We should encourage local content development in the oil and gas industry on our continent.”
He promised to facilitate more experience sharing between Nigeria and other African states, noting that APPO plans to develop exchange programmes among the staff of the oil industry of its member countries.
“We also believe that partnership in the development of cross-border energy infrastructure in oil and gas pipelines, electricity, and joint refineries, among others are key to the sustainable development of the energy industry in Africa. No one country can do it successfully in isolation,” he added.
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Meanwhile, while making his presentation on ’Sub Saharan Africa Local Content Collaboration Strategy’’, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote stated that the increasing discovery of hydrocarbon resources in Sub-Saharan Africa is sufficient motivation for governments and operators to collaborate closely.
He said such collaborations can be deployed using infrastructure development, legal framework, trade agreements, human capital mobility, common industry standards, supply chain development, finance beyond borders to achieve local content practices on a wider scale.
The Executive Secretary maintained that such collaboration will be an additional boost towards achieving sustainable development, especially if it is approached from the ‘’comparative advantage’’ point of view.
He remarked that Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, and Senegal had joined the league of countries with hydrocarbon resources between 2005 and 2015 and more countries would join by 2025.
Harping on Local Content, Wabote described it as a sure way to develop local capacities and capabilities across all sectors such that values are retained in-country and by extension, retained in-continent.
