African oil producers to meet in Washington
AFRICAN oil producers and companies will begin a three-day dialogue tomorrow in Washington DC, United States of America on the current and future of oil and gas investments on the continent.
The forum tagged: "2006 Africa oil and gas forum," was convened by the U.S-based Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).
A statement issued by the council stated that the forum would attract current and former heads of OPEC.
Also expected to attend and deliver papers are African ministers of petroleum resources, major oil companies and business groups.
Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, who is OPEC's current president and secretary-general will deliver a keynote address on the conference theme: "Expectations and reality."
According to the statement, Daukoru's speech will set the stage for constructive dialogue on what African nations and oil companies with operations on the continent expect to gain from current and future oil and gas investments.
It said that Chakib Khelil, Algeria's Minister of Energy and Mining and former president and OPEC secretary-general in 2001, will also address the conference.
Daukoru and Khelil will each share their views on the types of partnerships that African nations seek from oil companies and the investments potential for them to explore, the statement added.
It further noted that the objective of the forum is to assess whether expanding global competition in the energy sector, driven by emerging national oil companies, creates any unique challenges for U.S. - Africa bilateral relations.
Each representative of African oil producer will also address important issues pertaining to their respective environments, local content, natural gas reserves and potentialities.
"The CCA's 2006 Oil and Gas Forum, is put together to make a strong statement about the importance of Africa's role in meeting global energy demands," CCA President, Stephen Hayes said.
Hayes said that forum would also highlight other salient industry issues, such as changing global energy markets and the strategic importance of Africa's oil and gas producing countries to the U.S.
CCA, established in 1993, is a non-partisan membership organisation of nearly 220 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa.
Its members represent nearly 85 per cent of the total U.S. private sector investments in Africa.
� 2003 - 2006 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited
