The African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) has welcomed Senegal and Namibia as its newest member countries.
The announcement was made during the APPO Ministerial Council Session held in Luanda, Zambia in early November.
The decision to join the organization follows recent discoveries and project deployment in the two countries, including TotalEnergies’ Venus-1 and Shell’s Graff-1 discoveries in Namibia as well as Woodside’s Sangomar Phase 2 development and bp’s Yakaar-Teranga liquefied natural gas hub in Senegal – projects which are set to position the two countries to become major oil and gas producers.
With Namibia set to start its first oil and gas production in the next five to seven years – according to Andreas Simon, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Namibia – the entrance of the southern African country into APPO is set to fast track the development of the country’s hydrocarbon sector through cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and expertise with other African oil-producing countries within APPO.
With the two new member countries, APPO’s membership has increased to 18 countries-strong, with talks also currently underway with The Gambia, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia and Uganda to join the organization. Existing members of APPO include Africa’s biggest oil and gas producers including Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Libya and many more.
The expansion of APPO comes at a time the organization is implementing a series of mechanisms – including forming partnerships with the African Export Bank and the African Energy Chamber to create the African Energy Bank to address the increasing investment gap within the continent’s hydrocarbons industry – aimed at boosting the development and exploitation of oil and gas resources in Africa to address growing energy poverty.
In addition to welcoming Namibia and Senegal as new members, APPO has also reappointed H.E. Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim as its Secretary General for a second term.
