Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu was last week re-elected the President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) for the year 2019, in a move that will allow him conclude the ongoing reforms and restructuring of the Organization. This marks a historical moment for the Organization as it is the first time that any member country is allowed to provide the President of the Organization for two consecutive years. By this development, Nigeria has held the Presidency of APPO for three out of the four years of President Buhari’s administration. The only gap was when Chad led the Organization in 2017.
The reelection of Dr. Kachikwu took place during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the APPO which held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea under the high patronage of H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. The Ministerial Session had in attendance, APPO Ministers drawn from thirteen member countries; namely, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Niger, and Nigeria.
In his validation speech, Dr. Kachikwu enthused the unalloyed support that he has received from the members of the Council while affirming his commitment to making deep and sustained reforms that will not only guide its members to make the best returns in its energy business but also firmly reposition APPO as a global force.
It would be recalled that under Dr. Kachikwu’s Presidency of APPO in 2015-2016, the Organization embarked on a major reform aimed sharpening the focus of the Organization, enhancing professionalism and strengthening the capacity of the APPO Secretariat to conduct studies that will enhance the productivity of the African oil and gas industry, especially investing in trans-national infrastructure like pipelines and refineries and the development of local content. In addition to reforming APPO, Dr. Kachikwu was also mandated to reform and recapitalize the Cotonou-based APPO Fund for Technical Development. In this connection, Dr. Kachikwu submitted far-reaching proposals to the Ministerial Council, which unanimously approved its implementation. Among the major changes approved by the Ministerial Council was a change in the name of APPO Fund to AEICORP, African Energy Investment Corporation. Unlike APPO whose shareholders were limited to sovereign governments, AEICORP shall be open to sovereigns as well as institutional and private investors. AEICORP targets one US$1 billion in investment capital to fund energy infrastructure on the African continent. This recent reelection will see Dr. Kachikwu complete the ongoing reforms that will emplace APPO towards leaving a lasting legacy that will ensure that Africans benefit from the continent’s hydrocarbon resources.
Dr. Kachikwu expressed his gratitude to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the host Minister, H.E. Gabriel Obiang Lima for the excellent hospitality shown to the delegation and commended the world-class project execution of the APPO CAPE VII Congress and Exhibition.
In another development in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministers of the 24 Nation Declaration of Cooperation, DoC, comprising 14 OPEC and 10 Non-OPEC Oil Producing Countries, announced the appointment of Nigeria as a Member of the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Member Countries of the DoC. The JMMC comprises 2 non-OPEC countries, namely The Russian Federation and Kazakhstan and six OPEC countries, namely Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Venezuela.
The elevation of Nigeria to the JMMC is in recognition of the key role Nigeria’s Minister and Head of Delegation to OPEC, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu played in the diplomatic shuttles and negotiations that led to the founding of the DoC in 2016. It will be recalled that in his maiden Presidential address to the OPEC Ministerial Conference in December 2015, Dr. Kachikwu had decried a situation where OPEC was making all the efforts to stabilize the global oil market, while non-OPEC producers were reaping where they did not sow, and emphasized the need for joint efforts by all oil producers to stabilize the market. That statement set the tone for the quest for a formal forum for cooperation and collaboration to stabilize the oil market.
In accepting the offer from the JMMC, which needs to be ratified by the OPEC Conference, Dr. Kachikwu assured the Committee of his continuous commitment and that of Nigeria to the processes that will lead to the stabilization of the oil market.