10 – 13 October 2023
CTICC 2, Cape Town, South Africa
AOW is the premium and most established forum for stimulating deals and transaction in the African upstream. For 29 years, we’ve united serious decision-makers across the entire oil and gas value chain to facilitate new business and joint-venture opportunities.
Our active community of deal makers include, African governments, international and national oil companies, independents, C&G communities, service providers and investors, who depend on us to provide a collaborative stage to connect, share intelligence on enabling policy for capital and investment, licenses and bid rounds, to help move projects forward and inform their long-term business strategy in the African upstream.
Our mission with this year’s programme is to advocate for Africa to develop its oil and gas sector with strong carbon management strategies that are sustainable and to facilitate equitable transactions that make positive global impact, and a legacy of socio-economic development across the African continent.
The Africa Oil Week welcome reception is an eagerly anticipated event that sets the stage for this premier industry gathering. It offers attendees a fantastic opportunity to mingle, connect, and foster valuable relationships in a relaxed atmosphere with stunning views of Cape Town. As delegates from around the world converge to share insights, innovations, and strategies, the welcome reception serves as the perfect icebreaker, enabling participants to meet new faces and reconnect with industry peers.
Enjoy this captivating dance performance by Danny Mzansi Blue and students from the local Wynberg High School as we pay tribute to the incredible journey that has brought us here after 29 years and renew our commitment to the continent with the unveiling of our brand transformation
A Sustainable Energy Landscape; it's Time for Africa
The Honourable Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Paul Shipokosa Mashatile
Join us in the Business Lounge for the launch of the Deloitte Africa Energy Outlook 2023 report. Make connections with the new Business Matchmaking™ platform – start making new contacts now by downloading the app and finding the ‘NETWORKING & BUSINESS MATCHMAKING’ item.
A Q&A with Africa’s thought leaders shaping the future of finance and energy.
Africa’s strategies to build a high-energy future are as diverse as the continent but all share one common challenge: access to capital. In today’s world, accessing cheap financing requires true ingenuity and competitiveness while balancing local priorities with global scrutiny. In this Q&A, we bring you the perspectives from Africa’s most influential thought leaders shaping the future of finance and energy.
Interviewer: David Parkinson, Vice President, Wood Mackenzie
According to various industry estimations, oil will peak around 2040 – possibly reaching 114 million barrels per day – but the international community will continue to require hydrocarbons as we transition into year 2050. This being the case, how can African countries adapt to remain competitive and position their upstream markets as the supply base of choice?
Since 2019, Total Energies’ discoveries in the Outeniqua Basin has positioned South Africa as a new exploration frontier and redrew the cards of the country’s energy security scenario. Newly found reserves can support decarbonization and industrialization at home, while encouraging additional exploration in frontier basins to the West (Orange Basin) and to the East (South Outeniqua). Meanwhile, onshore exploration and development is picking up: South Africa became an LNG producer in 2022 and is witnessing growing exploration for shallow conventional and coal-bed methane (CBM) gas.
In this session ANPG will present objectives for their public tender bidding of 12 onshore oil and gas concessions, which is part of their 2019-2025 General Strategy to Award Petroleum Concessions, that aims to help the country discover new resources to attract investment and drive innovation.
Led by: Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources of the Federal Republic of Somalia
To be competitive in today’s energy world, E&P companies in Africa must embrace new business models and navigate complex regulatory, operational, and technical realities. As Africa’s upstream landscape evolves, we bring you two of the continent’s most active E&P players and two of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producing countries to talk about their approach to developing Africa’s natural resources.
Interviewer: Mansur Mohammed, Head of West Africa Upstream Content, Sub-Saharan Africa Oil & Gas, Wood Mackenzie
How Africa’s oil and gas players can help to create an inclusive energy transition on the road to COP28
The recent discovery of hydrocarbon prospects along Namibia’s offshore borders has brought exciting investment opportunities, which could lead to considerable oil revenue for this diverse, new energy hub. As E&P companies maintain their pursuit of the deep offshore Orange Basin, we invite stakeholders to share how we learn from the past to ensure that these new discoveries are equitable and provide social economic benefits to the region.
The MSGBC basin, encompassing the waters from Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry, holds sizeable offshore oil and gas reserves. Known to offer a favourable investment climate, this region is positioned to be one of the most exciting areas for oil & gas activity this decade. In 2024, both the $4.8 billion Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project in Mauritania/Senegal and the Sangomar Offshore Oil Project in Senegal will be commissioned, while a wildcat well will be drilled offshore Guinea Bissau. In this session, Ministers and senior government from the MSGBC Basin gather to discuss how these mega projects will deliver sustainable economic transformation for the region.
Africa’s oil and gas can be a conduit for its development, if delivered on an equitable basis through a focus on local content and domestic value creation. Achieving stronger stakeholder collaboration between government and private sector is paramount to ensure oil and gas can deliver a legacy of prosperity and economic benefits to host countries.
Open to all! Connect and engage with delegates at the evening networking reception hosted by AOW.
Maximising Ghana's Natural Gas Resources in the Global Energy Transition
Africa’s biggest oil producer is in the middle of a complete overhaul of its energy sector following the adoption of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, the Electricity Act in 2023, and the recent removal of its multi-billion dollars gasoline subsidies. To grow output back to the 2 million barrels per day threshold and boost gas supply, Nigeria must now sanction long-delayed offshore projects while resolving its onshore security crisis.
Stakeholders from PETROSEN and TGS will showcase the exciting investment opportunities in Senegal through a series of presentations plus Q&A.
African gas has become a much sought-after commodity given current geopolitical shocks and strong projected demand from global markets over the coming decades. But at the same time, investors must ensure that new gas projects also work for African local economies and value-creation. This Q&A unpacks the opportunities and challenges of building balanced and value accretive gas markets by giving stage to some of the industry’s most influential thought leaders.
Interviewer: Gavin Thompson, Vice chair EMEA, SVP Research, Wood Mackenzie
Led by: Petroleum Commission of Gambia
As valuable as gas is for Africa, its potential as a transition fuel is yet to be truly actualised. According to the IEA, tapping into Africa’s undeveloped gas reserves could add an additional 90 bcm per year by 2030, around two-thirds for domestic needs, and the rest for export. Given that potential, how can African nations build roadmaps for domestic gas monetization whilst balancing export demands?
Led by: ANPG
This panel aims to discuss the pros and cons of both infrastructure-led ILX and Frontier Exploration strategies. Participants will discuss the geoscience and investment needs underpinning these two strategies, and the relative challenges in developing value in diverse markets where there are opportunities for both. How do the strategies of IOCs and NOCs compare, and how can data support effective decision making to reduce the risk of stranded assets and improve reserve positions in each context.
Led by: Namcor
Ghana’s petroleum industry has witnessed significant progress over the last decade, making it one of the most promising sectors in West Africa. Following its initial growth cycle that started with the commissioning of the Jubilee, TEN and SGN fields, Ghana is determined to take its industry to the next level by leveraging on the inland Voltaian Basin and other Ultra Deepwater projects. Exploration activities in ultra deepwater offshore Ghana together with work being done on the inland Voltaian basin are expected to result in discoveries to shore up the reserves of the country. Existing operators are also currently involved in significant brownfield expansions to mitigate production decline and monetise gas, thereby enhancing the sustainability of their assets while making more energy available for Ghana’s industries and households. But more is on the table as new offshore hubs progress towards FID and delayed exploration programmes are put back on the table.
In this session, we invite the government of Ghana and its operators to discuss the future drilling campaigns, plans to unlock Ghana’s local and regional gas potential, and the outlook for the country’s upstream sector
Joesph Dadzie
Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Commerce, Strategy and Business Dev't)
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation
Senior representative, NVentures
African gas reserves are becoming increasingly attractive in the wake of global geopolitical shocks, strong demand prospects, and the need to secure global supply. However, new create additional value for local economies. How can Africa balance lucrative export revenues with the development of its own domestic gas markets?
Cote d’Ivoire - Building on Exploration Success
Presentations by:
Cross border gas transmission pipelines provide a vital service in linking sources of supply and consumers both within Africa and from Africa to Europe. These pipelines provide opportunities for producers, increase security of supply for consumers, and offer investment opportunities for an investors seeking a particular asset class.
In this session we consider the experience of stakeholders in existing cross border gas pipelines, ROMPCO (Mozambique – South Africa) and GME (Morocco- Spain) and explore the potential for new international pipelines.
Oil and Gas companies are growing more concerned about diversity and inclusion and are refining business models to focus on value-driven initiatives as data indicates a fast declining, ageing workforce, widening skills gap and imbalances in gender parity. This panel will explore how companies are prioritising and aligning budgets to meet human capital requirements.
Open to all! Connect and engage with delegates at the evening networking reception hosted by Azule Energy
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
For buyers wanting to invest in Africa, access to capital (both debt and equity) is proving more challenging whilst several of oil majors and national oil companies look to run disposal processes. As traditional commercial bank financiers continue to make global announcements about reducing their exposure to oil & gas globally, and given that most (if not all) acquisitions of big packages of African upstream assets will require debt across the line, is it available and where is it going to come from?
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
In this session we invite CFOs and lenders to share their thoughts on raising debt in challenging jurisdictions – successes and lessons learnt.
Led by: NUPRC
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
Morocco’s Oil and Gas Exploration Potential and Opportunities
Lessons from a Nigerian Indigenous Operator
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
As African operators and asset owners seek to raise billions to grow oil & gas production and expand energy infrastructure, global competition to access capital is intensifying. For most investors and financiers, projects must demonstrate their compliance with global ESG standards and alignment with a lower carbon future to be attractive. What does that mean for African oil & gas projects?
The Africa Independents Forum provides a select number of independent, indigenous, and local African companies with assets across the continent to showcase exploration and development and gain enhanced exposure to the wider oil and gas industry, key financial markets, and investors
Led by: SNPC Congo
African M&A has continued to be active and has drawn in new market entrants. However, there have also been challenges with deals taking greatly extended periods to close.
Ongoing Activities in the Tanzanian Oil and Gas Sector and 2024 Licensing Round A joint presentation between TPDC (NOC) and PURA (Upstream Regulator). TPDC will provide an overview of the ongoing activities in the oil and gas sector in Tanzania to give some context of market development and priority areas for the market and existing investment opportunities. PURA will share information on the upcoming licensing round expected in 2024 and opportunities for interested companies to that process both in terms of potential multi-client service providers and prospective investors
Kenneth Mutaonga
Director – Exploration, Development and Production
Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation
Shigela Malosha
Director of Contracting and Licensing
Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA)
Uganda: An Established Petroleum Province in the East African Region
Uganda’s oil and gas sector has transitioned from the exploration and appraisal phase to the development phase in preparation for sustainable production of the petroleum resources that have been discovered in the country. Uganda’s confirmed petroleum resource base is currently estimated at 6.5 billion barrels of Stock Tank Oil-Initially-In-Place (STOIIP), of which 1.4 billion barrels are estimated to be recoverable. In addition, gas resources are currently estimated at 600 Billion standard cubic feet (BCF). This volume of crude is planned to be commercialized using a 60,000 Barrels of Oil per Day (BOPD) refinery and a 190,000BOPD crude export pipeline.
To achieve a sustainable reserves replacement for the country, the government continues to evaluate the petroleum potential of the unlicenced acreages with the aim of issuing new exploration licences. During this country showcase the Ugandan delegation will discuss the following topics:
How can technology drive down cost, increase efficiency and ensure that Africa’s oil and gas sector develops strong carbon management strategies that attracts international capital. This panel brings together government, oil field service companies and EPCs to outline how innovation and technology can improve margins and decarbonize exploration and production.
FPSO Agogo - Leading the Way Towards Lower Emissions
Unearth Africa's Subsurface with CGG’s Cutting-edge Seismic Imaging Technologies to Optimise the Value of Data Extraction and Mitigate Exploration Risk
Open to all! Connect and engage with delegates at the evening networking reception hosted by AOW
The Africa Oil Week Farewell Beach Braai is the perfect closing note to this dynamic and informative conference. With the week's worth of discussions, presentations, and networking behind us, this beachside barbecue offers attendees a last chance to network but also unwind, reflect, and say their goodbyes in a relaxed and picturesque setting.