The African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) is a 16-member intergovernmental energy organisation created to serve as a platform for African petroleum-producing countries to cooperate, collaborate, and share knowledge and competencies, with a view to maximizing the developmental and welfare benefits accruable from petroleum exploitation activities in its member countries.

Expressing his expectations prior to the two-day conference, the CEO of GNPC said the time has come for policymakers and operators to work in harmony to find a solution to the threat posed by the energy transition.

“At a time when traditional financiers of oil and gas are threatening to discontinue, do we leave all natural deposits untapped?…GNPC is continuously looking for strategic partners in financing Ghana’s oil and gas projects and is seeking investors who will commit greatly to research and financing renewable energy projects in the country”, he said.

He said the seriousness of the energy transition calls for a complete rethink of the oil and gas industry’s operational model in Africa.

“For Africa to maximise returns from our fossil fuel, it behoves on us to collaborate in cross border oil and gas projects, the development of cross border oil and gas infrastructure and the creation of regional energy markets. I believe this begins with the commitment of the CEOs of all the NOC’s and thus the significance of this conference”, he added.

The conference is being hosted by the CEO of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari and the keynote address will be given by Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, the Secretary General of the APPO.

APPO currently has sixteen (16) member countries which include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Gabon. The rest are Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana.

Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah took over as the Chief Executive Officer of GNPC about three months ago and is fervently seeking strategic partnerships to reposition the Corporation considering the global energy transition. His vision is to leverage the competencies of GNPC into becoming a strategic partner in the paradigm shift from fossil fuels to renewables.