Africa-Press – Cape verde. The African Energy Chamber has named Angolan President João Lourenço as Energy Personality of the Year, recognising his role in transforming Angola into one of the continent’s largest oil and gas producers.
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) is an organisation that acts as a voice for the African energy sector, advocating for its interests and promoting investment by working with African and international partners in both the public and private sectors.
“The ‘Energy Personality of the Year’ award recognises President Lourenço’s impact, highlighting how his ambitious and inclusive leadership has created development opportunities for Angola and the region,” the AEC said in a statement.
The AEC cites the “long-term strategy” to revitalise the sector, highlighting that by introducing more adaptable investment models, João Lourenço “has managed to re-engage interest in the energy sector, resulting in a significant increase in investment across all stages of the energy value chain”.
The main stimulus measures include risk-sharing service contracts, the permanent supply of oil blocks regime, the creation of opportunities for exploration of marginal fields and the implementation of a program to gradually increase production. According to the CAE, the privatization of Sonangol, the creation of specific regulatory entities for exploration (upstream) and refining and distribution (downstream) activities, and the review of tax legislation have also contributed to increasing investment and promoting greater transparency in the energy sector in Angola. Angola is currently planning to invest US$60 billion (€52.7 billion) over the next five years and is opening up new opportunities for licensing blocks. “A new licensing round, scheduled to begin in 2025, should boost investment, offering 10 blocks for exploration in the Kwanza and Benguela basins,” the CAE points out, adding that Angola is also offering 11 additional blocks for investment through direct negotiation, in addition to five opportunities in marginal fields. It is also mentioned that the Angolan President “positioned the natural gas sector as a driver of the country’s development” and that the country “set the goal of achieving a refining capacity of over 400,000 barrels per day”.
Previous awards have included Frank Fannon, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources; Mohammed S. Barkindo, former Secretary-General of OPEC; Hage Geingob, former President of Namibia; Meg O’Neill, CEO and Executive Director of Woodside Energy; and Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
