EAC states meet to discuss oil and gas
11 Mar 2009
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
East African Community partner states start two days of crucial talks at a beach resort in the Kenyan coastal city, Mombasa, today expected to centre on the oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
The talks will be the 4th East African Petroleum Conference (EAPC`09) and are due to be opened by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and closed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
This is according to the acting Head of the EAC's Information and Public Relations directorate, Richard Owora.
The conference, whose theme is `Enhancing exploration and exploitation of oil and gas for socio-economic development`, has been organised by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with Kenya`s East African Cooperation and Energy ministries.
The event will attract over 600 delegates and officials responsible for petroleum and investment promotion as well as other players in the industry from EAC partner states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.
Invitations have also been sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan and Zambia.
There will be country presentations, mainly highlighting exploration activities but with special focus on petroleum potential, discoveries and utilisation as well as legal and fiscal regimes and current licensing status.
Owora said presentations would also be made on new exploration opportunities, evolving technologies and achievements in the search for new hydrocarbon reserves to supplement existing fields.
An exhibition and poster sessions are to run concurrently with the conference, with the EAC secretariat, EAC partner states and a number of oil and service companies “exhibiting and showcasing the region`s potential and other available investment opportunities“.
"Pre-conference excursions are to take place in Kenya and Rwanda, while post-conference excursions are planned for Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda," noted Owora.
EAPC'09 comes at a time when the global financial meltdown and marked reduction in oil prices have grossly impacted on the exploration financing base of many oil firms worldwide.
It is the fourth in a series of petroleum conferences held every two years in the five EAC partner states on a rotational basis.
The conferences chiefly seek to promote East Africa as a viable investment destination for petroleum exploration and development.
They are organised by the EAC secretariat, with the partner states in which they are held as co-hosts.
The first such conference was held in Nairobi in 2003, the second in Kampala in 2005 and the third in Arusha in 2007.
High quality technical presentations, exhibitions and poster sessions covering a wide spectrum of issues of interest for the petroleum upstream sub-sector are the hallmarks of the conferences.
They contribute to the exchange of information and enhance dialogue among stakeholders in the countries represented.
A report on the status of petroleum exploration and development in East Africa shows that Uganda has discovered oil and gas deposits in the Albertine Graben and is planning to put up a top-up oil refinery before exploiting some of the oil for local use.
Meanwhile, Natural gas has been found at southern Tanzania`s Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay and tapping it for the generation of electricity and as industrial fuel has long begun.
Rwanda has methane gas that is generated in Lake Kivu. A pilot plant for tapping the gas has been constructed, with plans on to developing it into a fully fledged power plant.
In Burundi petroleum exploration is going on in the Rusizi and Tanganyika basins, while several international oil firms are carrying out petroleum exploration in Kenya.
A total of 31 exploration wells have been drilled in the latter country but no commercial discoveries have yet been made.
Guardian
Post published in: Economy