The African Energy Chamber (AEC) (http://www.EnergyChamber.org) united financiers and energy stakeholders from the UAE, Middle East and Africa during its Invest in African Energy reception in Dubai on Thursday, aimed at cementing deeper, longer-term and mutually beneficial relations between the two regions and advancing shared interests in diversification, energy security and infrastructure development. Following successful stops in London, Oslo and Frankfurt earlier this year, the Chamber’s global investment tour continued to Dubai – representing a global financial capital and trade center – to catalyze new pathways of financing and developing African energy projects.

“Sign baby sign. Let’s sign deals. Let’s get things done and improve the enabling environment. We need to be able to move things faster. The beautiful thing about this city is its ability to drive business. When we cut the regulatory red tape and reduce the time it takes to approve permits, we drive projects. We can build Dubai’s all over Africa. Our industry – the energy industry – is about hope and opportunity,” opened NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.

Serving as a strategic partner to the event, S&P Commodity Insights presented its Africa Energy Sector Outlook, which highlighted Africa’s natural resource wealth and world-class frontier hydrocarbon discoveries, coupled with its need to balance energy transition and low-carbon energy demand. According to the Outlook, the region also has significant unmet demand for refined products, presenting opportunities for Middle East-Africa cooperation in the fields of refining, power generation, transmission and distribution, and renewables.

“Africa is certainly an exploration hotspot on a global scale… If we look at investment opportunities available today, there is a lot of activity currently underway. Investors in the market are coming in for strategic reasons, ” noted Matthew Rawlings, Vice President of upstream Consulting for S&P Commodity Insights. “Around the world, IOCs face increased liabilities and compliance costs with environmental legislation. This shift will have ranging implications for E&P activity host governments and particular relevance to Africa.”

The presentation was followed by a keynote speech from the Petroleum Commission of Ghana, representing one of Africa’s fastest-growing hydrocarbon markets. Producing commercial quantities of oil since 2010 through its flagship Jubilee field, Ghana is seeking to double its production by the end of 2023 – from around 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 420,000 bpd – supported by commercial discoveries in the Tano Cape Three Points block.

“Ghana has positioned itself to attract investments in the energy sector. We present one of the best investment opportunities in the sub-region. Following the Jubilee discovery in 2007, 30 additional discoveries have been made and are pending appraisal and development. Ghana guarantees attractive fiscal terms. These terms have proven over the years to provide a favorable investment framework,” stated Egbert Faibille Jr., CEO of the Petroleum Commission of Ghana.