Establishing National Energy Companies: The Role of National Oil Company (NOCs) Emphasized at African Energy Week NOC Summit

Africa’s premier energy event, African Energy Week (AEW) 2021, comprises a four-day interactive networking conference and exhibition whereby African and global stakeholders will unite to discuss the future of the African energy industry. On day two of AEW 2021, taking place in Cape Town on the 9^th-12^th of November, organizers will host a collaborative National Oil Company (NOC) Summit, whereby Africa’s top NOCs from across the continent will come together to discuss the role of NOCs in Africa’s energy future.

Led by NOCs including South Africa’s SFF, Gabon Oil Company, the Nigeria’s NNPC, Angola’s Sonangol, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Senegal’s Petrosen, Namibia’s NAMCOR, Uganda’s UNOC, Sudan’s SUDAPET and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, the NOC Summit will be critical for addressing both the challenges and opportunities experienced by NOCs in the African energy sector.

One of the primary topics to be addressed at the NOC Summit will be how NOCs have and can continue to reform themselves in ways that enhances their capacity and ensures they play an active role in driving Africa’s energy transition. Reforms will not only ensure NOCs become enablers of energy sector growth, but will help them transform into National Energy Companies, with diversification and portfolio enhancement key drivers.

Already, some NOCs have made significant progress to reform with the most notable being the NNPC. Nigeria’s new Petroleum Industry Bill divided the NOC into three separate entities – the Nigeria Petroleum Assets Management Company, the National Petroleum Company and the Nigeria Petroleum Liability Management Company, which will be supported by a regulatory body and a fund to oversee the distribution of capital. Similarly, Senegal’s Petrosen underwent a restructuring in 2019 whereby the NOC was split into three separate entities: Petrosen Holding, Petrosen Aval, and Petrosen E&P. At AEW 2021, NOCs will engage in dialogue surrounding the success of reforms, offering key solutions and ideas.

The NOC Summit also seeks to address the role of NOCs in asset acquisition in the upstream sector as IOCs divest from key African assets. NOCs have a role to play in stepping up to the opportunities created by IOCs exits. In an effort to create stronger and more resilient African NOCs, the NOC Summit will focus on strengthening intra-NOC collaboration .

“With many IOCs moving away from hydrocarbon assets, a unique opportunity has emerged for NOCs to step up to the challenge by diversifying their portfolios, expanding exploration and production, and taking both a proactive and leading role in the energy sector’s advancement. African NOCs are becoming increasingly more important in the continent’s energy future, and the NOC Summit at AEW 2021 in Cape Town will emphasize the role they play in attracting investment, driving frontier exploration, and increasing local capacity in order to create a competitive, sustainable, and highly qualified energy sector. The NOC Summit will offer a real discussion on the challenges, solutions, and key opportunities for NOCs in Africa, led by some of the continent’s most esteemed organization,” stated Leoncio Amada Nze Nlang, President of the African Energy Chamber (AEC) in the CEMAC region.

Finally, as many countries scale up their natural gas developments in the wake of significant discoveries and the energy transition, the Summit will drive a strong discussion on the role of NOCs in accelerating gas monetization, with emphasis placed on capacity building and private sector collaboration. NOCs form a bridge between the government and the private sector, and have a role to play in enhancing collaboration both nationally and regionally. By creating an enabling environment for private sector participants, and offering partnership opportunities across the entire energy sector value chain, NOCs can accelerate energy sector growth, the transition to cleaner energy sources, and wide-scale socio-economic development.  

AEW 2021, in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy DMRE, is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. AEW 2021 unites African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development and promote Africa as the destination for energy investments.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

For more information about Africa’s premier energy event, please visit AEW2021.com or EnergyChamber.org and/or reach out directly to Amina Williams at amina.williams@energychamber.org

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