DRC, Seychelles, Burundi to adopt Nigeria's petroleum laws

• Tuesday, 26 November 2013 18:57

THE governments of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Seychelles and Burundi have indicated their interest in adopting some Nigerian oil and gas policies, which they believed would be beneficial in their respective countries.
Indeed, DRC's Minister of Hydrocarbon, Serge Marie Aime Bdeko, was in Nigeria last week to discuss with the Nigeria Ministry of Petroleum with the intention of adopting some of Nigeria's oil and gas policies in his country.
Representatives of three countries that spoke with The Guardian at the ongoing Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, South Africa, believed that the imperativeness of learning from Nigeria so as not to make the same mistake the country made in the past in respect to the management of oil and gas resources.
Bdeko told The Guardian that the country is looking at Nigeria's content policy, which he said is necessary for Congo's oil and gas sector.
He disclosed that the country's crude oil production currently stands at 250.000 barrels of oil per day, with the hope of raising the production level to 500,000 barrels per day.
He said that petroleum dominates the resource sector of the Republic of Congo with the petroleum industry accounting for 89 per cent of the country's exports.
He added that oil production has been increasing every year as a result of several new projects coming online, mainly Congo's first deep-water field Moho-Bilondo. "The Congo is the fifth largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. The accompanying downstream oil industry is an important element in the country's economy. The oil industry is predominantly run by foreign companies and is centred on the coastal city of Pointe-Noire where the Congolaise de Raffinage operates the 21,000 bpd Pointe Noire refinery. This is why is necessary for us to learn from the Nigerian experience".
The Chief Executive Officer of PetroSeychelles Limited, Republic of Seychelles, Eddy Belle, said the country's oil and gas industry is the development stage, therefore the need for them to get it right.
According to him, "we are ready to learn lesson from a country like Nigeria because we would not want to repeat the mistakes of other countries. We have studied different aspects of Nigeria's oil and gas sector and we are very much interested in engaging indigenous firms in our attempt to develop local capacity.
"We are interested in the local Content Policy because it has has led to the growth of small companies. One thing I like about Nigeria is its continuous campaign for the promotion of Local capacity"'.
Belle disclosed that the company has been entrusted with the sole responsibility of meeting the country's fuel requirement in four key areas— local consumption, power generation, marine bunkering and aviation refuelling.
He added that recognizing that energy is the lifeblood of any economy, the company has consistently and reliably guaranteed supply of fuel and strives to continually improve efficiency, maximize cost-effectiveness and remain a competitive force in the region.
He noted that exportation of petroleum products in the region represents 75 per cent of the company's total revenues and is a major contributor of foreign exchange to the national economy.
"The company's international clientele is derived from marine bunkering, aviation refueling and transshipment activities. Although it has monopoly supply on the domestic market the company has to maintain its competitiveness in the region on the basis of product quality, availability of supply, service delivery and price", he added.

Also, a representative from the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Burundi, Bizimana Bernard, said that challenges of finding hydrocarbon remained an issue in his country. "We are willing to learn from Nigeria being the largest producer of crude oil in Africa. We are specifically interested in developing our local capacity due to the success Nigeria has recorded so far in the policy."
The Africa Oil Week is organized by Global Pacific and Partners, with 100 scheduled speakers, including representatives from large corporations.
Experts from Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Kenya, Congo, Namibia, South Africa, Madagascar, Uganda, Burundi and other nations will focus their attention on new oil discoveries, development of emerging firms and gas developments on the continent.
The Africa Upstream Conference has been scheduled for the same date, on November 25 to 29, where prospecting, the development and production chain, corporate strategies and participation of foreign States are the focus of attention.
"This single grouping is unprecedented and is attracting a top-level audience of business executives and State officials," said GPP General Duncan Clarke.
Delegates from major oil companies have confirmed their attendance at the Africa Oil Week 2013, including Total, African Petroleum, ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Shell, Warburg Pincus, Heritage Oil, SAPETRO, Petroceltic, PetroSA, and Valco Energy.