Africa Oil Week (AOW), the leading oil and gas show for Africa is scheduled to host its 27^th edition in Dubai. The event will be held on 8-11 November 2021 at Madinat Jumeirah. Owing to the organisers’ emphasis on the safety and wellbeing of attendees, the event will be held for the first and only time in the Emirate.

Despite the temporary change in location from Cape Town to Dubai, Africa Oil Week will continue to stimulate upstream deals and transactions, drive investments into African projects, and facilitate new partnerships and networking opportunities for the African upstream. The event presents a chance to be a bridge between Africa and the Middle East, showcasing the immense potential in the African market.

One of the key highlights of the event is its noteworthy line-up of Ministers and government leaders, with 66 per cent of African governments including ministers from Ghana, Uganda, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be represented. Over 24 National Energy Showcases will be hosted throughout the week, providing a dedicated investment platform for Ministers, NOCs, Utilities and Regulators to broker deals and meet new partners.

Capitalising on Dubai’s oil & gas market

Reuniting the industry under the “Succeeding in a Changed Market” theme, Africa Oil Week will bring together the thought-leaders across industry and government representatives who will reshape the future of oil and gas in Africa. Adhering to the theme, the strategic conference will focus on the African upstream’s preparedness to adapt and respond to the global Covid-19 pandemic and accelerated energy transition, while building back the industry by unlocking upstream asset and exploration potential.

The event has received overwhelming support from leading oil, gas and energy organisations from across the globe such as TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron, Equinor, Perenco, ReconAfrica, Seplat, Tullow Oil, Africa Oil Corp, PGS, Fugro and Africa Oil Week’s Business Intelligence partner, Wood Mackenzie.

Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy, Republic of Ghana, said, “Africa Oil Week is undoubtedly a much-awaited event for the African oil and gas industry. The event’s networking opportunities ensure the resilience and continued progress of the sector in the region and beyond. This year, we are thrilled that the event will take Africa to the Middle East. This will help us showcase our competencies. We want to laud the efforts taken by the organisers, who have ensured that patrons don’t miss out on a valuable industry event like AOW, all this while, following the necessary COVID-19 safety protocol.”

Nicolas Terraz, President Exploration and Production and member of the Executive Committee of TotalEnergies, said, “I am pleased to be speaking at Africa Oil Week. As one of Africa’s biggest oil producers, TotalEnergies remains committed to exploration in Africa, and we look forward to sharing and discussing our vision at the event in Dubai.”

Keith Hill, President and CEO, Africa Oil Corp, said, “We are delighted to be participating at this year’s Africa Oil Week in Dubai, an event that we look forward to every year for its tremendous business and networking opportunities.”

Facilitating discussions on pressing concerns

Over the past 27 years, AOW has established itself as the premier platform for African upstream thought leadership. The 2021 agenda will highlight pressing industry concerns around the future of exploration and production for Africa, with CPD-accredited strategic sessions across the week including:

• A high-level ministerial panel discussion on the impact of energy transition policies on hydrocarbon producers
• A debate from leading operators including TotalEnergies, Equinor and Tullow Oil on key operating trends and insight into deriving maximum value from assets and portfolios
• An esteemed panel of geophysical executive leaders will talk about the future of seismic and why Africa still holds so many prospects for frontier exploration

Paul Sinclair, Vice President of Energy & Director of Government Relations, Africa Oil Week & Future Energy Series Africa said, “As we gear up for AOW in Dubai, we aim to offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience to all our event attendees who are flying in from around the globe. Our primary aim is to capitalise on the top-notch event organising capabilities of the Emirate, a thriving hub for oil and gas, while helping attendees discover the potential of business opportunities in Africa. We also hope to initiate crucial dialogue that will help industry players in conducting business. We are certain that the event will foster valuable interactions and profitable partnerships in the MENA region that has about $652bn worth of oil, gas and petrochemicals projects planned or underway, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.”

As part of its agenda, the event will host the Future Energy Series: Africa symposium: a dedicated VIP Programme, welcoming energy ministers and the private renewable and power sector for progressive dialogue on driving green economies and ensuring universal and sustainable power access for the continent.

Another initiative, the Africa Independents Forum, a dedicated transaction and deal-making platform for leading independents operating across Africa to present their active assets, drilling campaign updates, and JV opportunities across their portfolios will be relaunched for 2021. It will feature presentations from organisations including ReconAfrica, FIRST E&P, Heritage Oil and Africa Oil Corp.

Additionally, Africa Oil Week and partner Lean In Energy (LIEN) will host the AOW Accelerates: Diversity & Inclusion initiative at the event to champion greater diversity, equity and gender equity parity across the energy sector and drive progressive dialogue. This year the initiative will specifically explore the role of diversity within Africa’s energy transition, aligning our programme with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development and Africa Union Agenda 2063 Goals of both Gender Equality and Clean Energy.