Algeria has confirmed its attendance at the 26th Africa Oil Week (AOW) in Cape Town this November.
Algeria’s Energy Minister, Mohamed Arkab will be joined by 20 other Pan-African ministers at the conference, as well as Premier of the South Africa’s Western Cape province, Alan Winde.
The North African country recently announced its “fuel self-sufficiency” after a difficult period for both the sector and the country. All signs now point to Algeria strengthening its position in global oil and gas, making its participation in this year’s AOW summit particularly exciting a statement by the AOW stated.
According to the country’s Energy Minister, Mohamed Arkab, Algeria now produces sufficient fuel to meet domestic demand and has not had to import since 2018 adding that it is currently ranked 16th-largest globally in terms of proven oil reserves and 10th-largest in terms of proven gas reserves.
Determined to restore the attractiveness of the country’s extractive industries, increase production levels and bring in foreign direct investment to the petroleum sector, without threatening national sovereignty, the Minister has made the drafting of a new hydrocarbon law, which aims to counter a “slowdown in new exploration and production contracts” his first priority.
Also, the Minister is focused on upgrading existing refineries to meet international standards of consumption as well as environmental and industry safety, a move that has characterized Algeria’s energy agenda in recent years.
During a visit to the newly inaugurated Sidi R’Cine Refinery in Algiers, which was re-opened after significant modernization, the Minister said: “This rehabilitation operation will inevitably lead us to achieve a surplus of production, which can be exported in the future”.
Communicating this new agenda and highlighting that Algeria is very much open for business will be Mr Arkab’s top priority at Africa Oil Week 2019, where he will be participating in a Ministerial Panel alongside his counterparts from Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Uganda. The panel is designed to give Ministers the chance to detail their hydrocarbon strategies to a global audience and layout their future operating outlooks.
Speaking on Algeria’s attendance of 2019 Africa Oil Week Confere, the conference Director, Paul Sinclair said, “We are thrilled to have the Algerian Minister attending this year’s conference, which looks set to have a record-breaking level of ministerial attendance and the highest level of North African representation in some years.”
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