By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief

A high-wire virtual event(webinar) being arranged by the African Energy Chamber(EnergyChamber) will centre on opportunities for companies involved in oil and gas exploration in Africa and operations in a post COVID-19 environment.

The webinar to be moderated by SVP of the African Energy Chamber, Verner Ayukegba will hold on eptember 29, 2020 and will feature the following panellists:

• Chairman, International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) Nigeria Chapter, Chuks Enwereji

• Managing Director, ODENL, Chijioke Akwukwuma,

• EAME Consultant, International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC), Ross Compton

• Country Manager, PGS Nigeria, Wole Oyetoran

• Vice President, Western Hemisphere, Polarcus, John Scott and

• Head, Gas Ventures, Neconde Energy Limited, Chichi Emenike

To attend, interested parties are to register here (https://bit.ly/3kEMmQD) and should use #aecwebinars to join the conversation.

The oil and gas industry globally is currently going through a period of transition, during which the industry is re-adjusting itself to operate in a post COVID-19 environment with oil prices likely to stabilise between US$35-50 Barrels per day.

Despite these challenges, drilling activity in Africa according to African Energy Chamber projections is expected to drop in 2021 only slightly from projected 2020 levels. A total number of 800 wells are expected to be drilled this year, with that number expected to drop only slightly below 800 in 2021. These numbers, however, represent a drop of over 25 percent compared to 2019.

Similarly, capital expenditure is also expected to reduce by over 25 per cent between 2019 and 2021. An estimated US$28 Billion is expected to be spent on upstream capital expenditure projects in 2021, with over US$10 billion of that dedicated to field development projects.

This continues to present significant opportunities for companies involved in the upstream value chain like drilling and geophysical contractors. “Those service providers, that are able to adapt to the new market conditions by implementing effective cost control solutions and streamlining processes, especially with the help of technology will thrive and grow at the expense of those companies that are slow to adapt to the new market realities,” said Ayukegba.

“The AEC position in Angola has not changed: we continue to see opportunities in Angola and believe it’s important to shine a light on these and bring industry players from across the globe to exploit these as we face this challenging situation together, and overcome. Angola’s oil and gas industry is a well-developed one, but it’s absolutely clear that we will need to always innovate and collaborate in order to remain relevant for the years to come. Our key role at the African Energy Chamber is to be the voice of the African energy industry and this is a prime example of how we do that. It’s a unique chance to make connections and hear more about the landscape of the African energy sector,” concluded Angola President for the African Energy Chamber, Sergio Pugliese.

The International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) representatives on the panel will talk about emerging industry trends, technological developments in the industry, new standards and regulations that affect their members and possible changes in legislation that are likely to affect their members and the industry.

The panel also contains experienced professionals who will enrich the discussions with on the ground experiences on how they are steering their companies to take advantage of existing opportunities in the African oil and gas sector and what plans they have going forward.

As many African countries continue to bend over backwards to encourage exploration and drilling, especially of new licenses, what other concessions are companies looking for, to take up new exploration activity? Nigeria for example is currently going through a marginal field bidding round, which will lead to the award of numerous licenses in 2021. What incentives need to be availed, to the new license holders, to enable them to deploy exploration capital in the quickest and most effective manner possible?

Finally, the webinar will also examine how Africa currently compares to other oil and gas producing regions and what African countries need to do to develop and grow their competitive edge vis-a-vis other oil and gas producing regions globally.