African Energy Week (AEW) 2024 Ministerial Lineup to Foster Strategies to Alleviate Energy Poverty in Africa

Energy and hydrocarbon ministers from across Africa have joined the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference to discuss investment opportunities while engaging with financiers and project developers. Representing the entire energy value chain from oil and gas to renewable energy to power and infrastructure, regional ministers will unpack the continent’s strategies to make energy poverty history by 2030.  

North African countries such as Libya and Algeria have set ambitious production targets for the coming years, aiming to plug Europe’s energy gap while enhancing domestic energy access. Libya aims to boost output to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the next two to three years while Algeria aims to produce over 1.5 million bpd in 2025. Meeting production goals requires accelerated exploration, with both countries promoting investments in upstream drilling. At AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, North African energy and hydrocarbon ministers will provide insight into these opportunities. They are joined by ministers representing global and African oil and gas organizations, including:  

Khalifa Abdulsadek, Minister of Oil&Gas, Libya 
Mohamed Arkab, Minister of Energy and Mines, Algeria 
Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General, OPEC 
Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of APPO 

In Southern Africa, the region is ripe with opportunity. An estimated 11 billion barrels has been found off Namibia’s coast since 2022; over 100 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas found offshore Mozambique; and an estimated 200 tcf likely held onshore South Africa. While Angola – the second largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa – still offers significant potential in both on- and offshore basins, Southern African countries such as Zambia are largely underexplored, presenting strategic opportunities for exploration companies. At AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, Southern African energy and hydrocarbon ministers will outline strategic basins and upcoming projects. Speakers include:  

Carlos Zacarias, Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources&Energy, Mozambique 
Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, Angola 
Gwede Mantashe, Minister, Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, South Africa 
Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister of Electricity, South Africa 
Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zambia 
Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines and Energy, Namibia 

Recent offshore projects have positioned West Africa as a global hydrocarbon hotspot. Mauritania and Senegal’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG project will start production this year, following the start of operations at Senegal’s Sangomar Oil Project in mid-2024. Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery – the largest in Africa at 650,000 bpd – recently secured a 400,000-bpd feedstock supply from the government a year after its start while Ivory Coast’s Belaine project – the first net-zero upstream development in Africa – plans to commence phase two operations this December. Regional ministers will provide an update on ongoing projects, future investments and efforts to unlock additional reserves at AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024. Ministers include:  

Aboubacar Camara, Minister of Energy, Hydropower and Hydrocarbons, Guinea Conakry 
Birame Soulèye Diop, Minister of Energy, Oil and Mines Republic of Senegal 
Chief. Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, Federal Republic of Nigeria 
Collins Adomako-Mensah, Deputy Minister of Energy in Charge of Power, Ghana 
Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Nigeria 
Foday Mansaray, Director General, PDSL 
Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Nigeria 
Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy, Ghana 
Mohamed Ould Khaled, Minister of Petroleum&Energy, Ministry of Petroleum, Mines&Energy, Mauritania 
Nani Juwara, Minister of Energy and Petroleum, The Gambia 
Viriato Luis Soares Cassama, Minister of Environment&Biodiversity, Guinea-Bissau 
Yacouba Zabré Gouba, Minister of Energy and Mines, Burkina Faso 

Central Africa – with major producers such as Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo – are inviting investors to support diversification efforts in production and refining. Leveraging natural gas, these markets aim to unlock reserves in both domestic and regional basins while boosting export capacity and intra-African trade. The Republic of Congo exported its first LNG cargo in 2024 from the Tango FLNG facility, targeting 3 million tons per year by 2025, while Equatorial Guinea forged an agreement with Nigeria to import and process gas at its Punta Europa facility. At AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, regional ministers will outline these initiatives, while sharing insight into available opportunities in natural gas. Ministers include:  

Antonio Uburu Ondo, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Equatorial Guinea 
Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons, the Republic of Congo 
Marcel Abeke, Minister of Petroleum, Republic of Gabon 

As a frontier market, East Africa is incentivizing exploration in both on- and offshore basins while driving infrastructure and field development projects forward. Uganda inked a deal with Ethiopia in 2024 to export crude via pipeline while South Sudan is seeking diversified export routes and promoting exploration onshore. Regional ministers will share more insights at AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024. Speakers include:   

Ing Habtamu Itefa Geleta, Minister of Water and Energy, Ethiopia 
Okasaai Sidronious Opolot, Minister of state for Energy, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda 
Puot Kang Chol, Minister Petroleum, South Sudan 

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.