By Anthony Areh
The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons and the African Energy Chamber of Equatorial Guinea will host an open webinar on the current state of the global oil markets.
The webinar would hold on April 27, 2020 and Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea will lead the conversation on the topic ‘The State of Oil Markets and Global Rebound’; The webinar will be moderated by Concepcion Esuba, Founder of Evicon and Caty Hirst, Director of Programming at Africa Oil & Power.
H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea alongside the African Energy Chamber will host a webinar on April 27, 2020 at 15:00 (16:00 SAST) to examine the current state of the global oil industry.
Hosted under the topic ‘The State of Oil Markets and Global Rebound’ the open to public webinar will discuss the ongoing challenges in the global oil industry and what it will take for the market to rebound in a manner that will not lead to lost business and growth opportunities for emerging African oil producers.
“The challenges we are facing now are reminiscent of those experienced in the 2014 price crash and, it is because of what happened then and how the global market was able to rebound that I think we are better equipped to take this challenge of the current market down turn and the COVID-19 pandemic head on,” said H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima.
“We will emerge from this stronger, more efficient with investors continuing their commitments. We just have to adjust to the current environment and be forward-thinking in our decision making,” added Minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima.
Equatorial Guinea has led the charge in countless ways for Africa’s oil and gas development, and continues to leverage its membership in OPEC to encourage African oil producers to stand together – a message that rang loud and clear during Minister Obiang Lima’s participation in the forum jointly hosted by EG Open for Business, iCubefarm, NASCO and other oil and gas organizations in Equatorial Guinea last week.
Although Equatorial Guinea is heavily reliant on oil and stands to be among the hardest hit by the price decline, the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons remains optimistic.
“It is very important that Equatorial Guinea take the lead in driving this conversation, especially for Africa,” said Executive Preside for the CEMAC region at the African Energy Chamber, Leoncio Amada Nze Nlang.
“Equatorial Guinea is one of the more established oil producing countries the continent has to offer, and its growth is one that has made waves on a global scale.
“The country is well positioned to provide a sense of confidence and reassurance to emerging producers that have some of the biggest projects in the world standing to be at risk of delays.”
To date, Africa has seen a number of oil and gas projects experiencing financing delays, drilling suspensions and terminations, deferrals and, in the notable case of Senegal, the notice of force majeure on the Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim LNG project.
