07TH EAST AFRICAN PETROLEUM CONFERENCE SET FOR KIGALI
(Posted 02nd March 2015)
Eastern Africa, besides being a tourism magnet with magnificent safari parks, beaches, cultural and historical attractions, has in the more recent past also emerged as a major region of new oil and gas finds.
The Tanzanian offshore gas reserves are thought to be among the world’s largest finds, and oil discoveries in Uganda and Kenya will, when production finally starts, no doubt become an economic game changer for these two countries. Investments in infrastructure like pipelines and a refinery in Western Uganda, will bring billions of US Dollars into the local economies.
The 07th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition will take this week in Kigali at the Kigali Serena Conference Centre, a biannual event first held in 2003 but grown in importance as the discoveries of oil and gas just kept adding up, making the East African region a new Eldorado for prospectors and explorers, before the production companies eventually take over.
The East African Region has a total of 28 prospective sedimentary basins with over 37 international oil and gas companies licensed in the region to date. The petroleum resources discovered in the East African region are estimated at over 2 billion barrels of oil in place and 3tcf of natural gas. Additional resources continue to be discovered by ongoing exploration programmes across the region.
Each of the previous six Conferences has been more than just an international conference for it has integrated cultural & touristic dimensions unique to East Africa. EAPCE’15 will, like the previous conferences, provide participants with not only the opportunity to assess the developments in the petroleum upstream sector in East Africa, but also to explore the many and varied attractions of this large region that is known in Africa for its unique and diverse beauty.
EAPCE’15 will feature an exceptional program of technical papers, research posters with an impressive line up of invited speakers and panel participants together with innovative exhibitions. Immediately before and after the Conference there will be a diverse range of opportunities for delegates to enjoy geological field excursions and tours of wildlife conservation areas.
According to information received from a Ugandan participant, will the three day conference cover a wide field of topics as outlined below:
EAPCE’15 Agenda Items:
Management of Petroleum Revenue
Field Development and Reservoir Management
Exploration and Development in the East Africa Rift Basin and other Interior Basins
Technological Advancements in Oil and Gas Exploration
Exploration and Development in East Africa Coastal Basin
East Africa Deep Water Oil and Gas Exploration and Development
Oil and Gas Commercialization and Infrastructure Development
Meeting the Regional Energy needs from the discovered Resources
Exploitation of non-conventional Resources
Local Content Development
Capital Investments by East African Institutions
Managing Stakeholder Expectations
Managing Environmental, Health, Safety and Social Impacts in Oil and Gas Operations
The last point is most important for the region’s tourism industry as some of the oil finds, like in Uganda, have been made inside national parks and game reserves, among them Murchisons Falls National Park and the Kaiso Tonya Wildlife Reserve. This has raised concerns among conservationists and the tourism fraternity about the state of preparedness in case of oil spills, which could effectively wipe out these areas as game parks. Watch this space.
