Guinea-Conakry’s Minister of Energy, Hydropower and Hydrocarbons Aboubacar Camara will deliver a keynote address at the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy 2024 conference – scheduled for November 4-8 in Cape Town. Minister Camara will highlight Guinea-Conakry’s efforts to diversify its energy portfolio, encompassing hydrocarbons, hydropower and other energy sources while outlining strategic initiatives aimed at transforming the country’s energy landscape.

In an effort to increase investments and boost exploration, Guinea-Conakry is finalizing the terms of a 22-block bid round – including onshore and offshore assets. The bid round will feature comprehensive seismic data packages and favorable fiscal terms designed to appeal to a wide range of investors. During AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, Minister Camara will provide insight into emerging block opportunities, engaging with global investors and project developers to advance exploration in the frontier market.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

As a largely unexplored hydrocarbons market, Guinea-Conakry is turning to infrastructure development to support regional trade while exploration gradually progresses. Situated in close proximity to large-scale natural gas projects in Mauritania and Senegal, Guinea-Conakry aims to establish an LNG terminal at Port of Kamsar. The project will be operated by the West African LNG Group and its parent company – project developer AfricaGlobal Schaffer – and include both import and export terminals. Valued at $300 million, the project will include a full-service LNG receiving terminal, liquefaction plant and export terminal. The project also features a 1,900 MW gas-fired power plant which will support proposed alumina refineries in the country. This strategic infrastructure project will not only enable the import of regional LNG but support energy security and economic growth in the country by powering industries such as mining.

Meanwhile, advancements in the country’s power sector aim to bolster access to electricity while creating new investment opportunities for technology companies, power developers and infrastructure firms. This month, the French Development Agency approved a €60 million loan to Guinea-Conakry to improve electricity access in Forest Guinea. The 20-year loan, with a seven-year grace period, aims to expand energy services to urban and rural areas, including the Guinea-Mali interconnection project. This financial support is expected to improve the country’s energy infrastructure, enhance economic development and improve the quality of life for many Guineans. The nation is also increasing its efforts to diversify its energy portfolio. In collaboration with Russian nuclear energy firm Rosatom, the country is set to deploy floating nuclear power plants to enhance its energy security and provide a stable power supply for its industrial and mining sectors. This initiative aims to integrate nuclear energy into the national grid and address the growing energy demand.

Moreover, Guinea-Conakry is driving development across the renewable energy sector, with a new focus on solar and hydropower. The country aims to add 500 MW of solar energy to its grid, a move that aligns with its commitment to diversifying the energy mix. This plan involves multiple projects across various regions, aiming to harness Guinea’s abundant solar resources to meet growing energy demands and support sustainable development. Additionally, hydropower projects such as the 450 MW Souapiti Hydropower Station, which has been operating since 2022; the 300 MW Amaria Hydropower Project, which is currently under development; and the 294 MW Koukoutamba Dam Project, which is currently undergoing a feasibility assessment, are expected to enhance the nation’s electricity generation capacity.

“Guinea holds a strategic position within the MSGBC region, showcasing immense potential in its untapped oil and gas reserves. The country’s commitment to advancing its energy sector through initiatives like the upcoming 22-block bid round demonstrates a forward-thinking approach that will not only drive economic growth but also strengthen regional energy cooperation,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

During AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, Minister Camara will advocate for Guinea-Conakry’s role in regional energy development and highlight opportunities for sustainable growth and investment in the nation’s dynamic energy sector. He will also engage with stakeholders and energy companies to draw investments in its hydrocarbons and renewable energy sector. Additionally, the minister will participate in the Invest in MSGBC Energies roundtable, a dedicated platform exploring investment opportunities across the region. Key experts from the MSGBC region will gather to discuss recent energy developments, upcoming initiatives and favorable regulations to attract new players to invest in the region’s energy sector.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

The upcoming African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference – Africa’s premier event for the energy sector, taking place from 4–8 November in Cape Town – will host an OPEC-Africa Roundtable, uniting key stakeholders from OPEC and African oil producers to engage in collaboration and strategic dialogue on best practices to stabilize the global oil market. The return of the OPEC-Africa Roundtable at this year’s event underscores the strengthening ties between OPEC and Africa and is underpinned by Africa’s growing importance in global market dynamics.

This June, OPEC and its allies, including African producers such as the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, Libya, Gabon and Nigeria, agreed to extend oil production cuts through to September 2025. The production cuts are designed to avoid oversupplying the global oil market, stabilize barrel prices, foster investment in both existing and new projects, and ensure revenue generation for producing countries. Efforts to maximize the stability of the global oil market by leveraging Africa’s 125 billion barrels of crude reserves will be unpacked during the roundtable.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

Global oil demand is expected to reach 116 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2045, according to OPEC. This highlights a strategic opportunity for both existing and emerging producers in Africa, and countries are already driving upstream developments to meet rising demand. In April 2024, Nigeria – Africa’s biggest oil producer – unveiled its 2024 Licensing Round, offering 12 blocks for exploration. The round aims to entice new investment into undeveloped blocks, specifically deep offshore assets. The launch followed the country starting operations at the TotalEnergies-operated Akpo West Field in February 2024, increasing daily output by 14,000 bpd.

The continent’s second largest producer is Libya, an OPEC member since 1962, with production measuring 1.21 million bpd in April 2024. The country has been rehabilitating 36 oil wells in the Messla and Sarir fields and has commenced several exploration campaigns with Spanish energy firm Repsol, Algerian National Oil Company (NOC) Sonatrach and energy major TotalEnergies. Libya aims to produce two million bpd within the next two to three years and plans to launch a new licensing round by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

Meanwhile, the Republic of the Congo – which became an OPEC member in 2018 – is undertaking a series of measures to boost investments and infrastructure developments across its upstream sector. The country aims to increase output from the current 259,000 bpd to 500,000 bpd. Chinese energy company Wing Wah is developing the Banga Kayo block while energy major Eni is exploring conventional and deep offshore areas off the coast of Pointe-Noire. Eni inaugurated the Congo LNG project in 2023. Additionally, earlier this year, TotalEnergies announced plans to invest up to $600 million to strengthen E&P activities in the country, including operations at the Moho Nord field which accounts for roughly half of the country’s total production.

Gabon is also driving upstream projects, leveraging its OPEC membership and strategic vision to increase production to 220,000 bpd. E&P company BW Energy kickstarted production at the DHBSM-1H well in the Hibiscus South exploration prospect in March, only five months after the discovery was made. Independent oil and gas firms Perenco and VAALCO are implementing several drilling campaigns at the Hylia and Etame Marin fields. TotalEnergies is drilling in the Baudroie-Mérou Marine field and the China National Offshore Oil Company is exploring Blocks BC-9 and BCD-10.

In Equatorial Guinea, NOC GEPetrol signed a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for Block EG-23 with independent E&P firm Panoro Energy, with plans to fast-track infrastructure development in the block and utilize the assets to drive the country’s oil market expansion. The company also signed PSCs with Chevron for Blocks EG-11 and EG-06.

“OPEC is committed to not only stabilizing global oil markets but supporting investment and development in Africa. For mature producers, the organization remains committed to strengthening supply-demand dynamics, while for emerging producers, stands ready to support as the industry grows. Going forward, OPEC will continue to play a crucial role in reinforcing Africa’s position in global energy matters,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

The OPEC-Africa Roundtable builds on these developments to foster a collaborative approach to addressing industry challenges and seizing new opportunities in African oil. The roundtable will feature high-level speakers and key decision-makers, including OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, alongside African energy ministers, top executives from major oil companies and leading industry experts. The Secretary General is expected to highlight investment opportunities in the African oil market while delving into strategies for balancing supply-demand worldwide.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Africa’s leading TV media group, AFRICA24 (https://AFRICA24TV.com/), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at promoting the Continental Free Trade Area and African Economic Integration through multiple high-impact actions.

Initialled at the AfCFTA secretariat’s headquarters in Accra by H.E. Wamkele MENE, Secretary-General of AfCFTA Secretariat, and Constant NEMALE, Founder of Groupe AFRICA24 (President of Afrimedia International), the Memorandum of Understanding will enable the concrete implementation of three major actions:

The promotion, through the AfCFTA Secretariat to all citizens, institutional partners, companies and organizations, of actions for the realization of priority projects such as infrastructure, energy, industry, transport, logistics, new technologies, and all initiatives to contribute to the accelerated development of Africa.
Promoting the value of African commercial enterprises, whose achievements contribute to the objectives of the AfCFTA on the entire African continent.
Raising awareness among the continent’s citizens, young entrepreneurs and women, the pillars of development, of the assets and opportunities of the AfCFTA, which is to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of people and trade flows.

The AfCFTA Secretariat and the leading media group AFRICA24 have agreed to turn this partnership into a genuine platform that promotes projects, companies and institutions through an innovative large-audience narrative, based on the following reference axes:

The creation of multi-media content to enhance the impact of intra-African trade;
Mutual organization and participation in AfCFTA events and co-organization of specific meetings (Awards, Summits, Forums, sectoral webinars, etc.) and all other forms of action,
Intervention in content production by AfCFTA experts and the aggregation of all the continent’s media on this new platform.

At the signing ceremony, H.E. Wamkele MENE, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, expressed his determination: “The signing of this historic memorandum of understanding with Groupe AFRICA24 bears witness to the importance of the media in the success of the continental free trade policy. The AFRICA24 Group, with its expertise, its audience and its benchmark leadership on Africa, will make it possible, through all communication channels, to raise awareness among all the continent’s citizens of the priority objectives of the AfCFTA, in particular the establishment of an economic area for the benefit of all the peoples and countries of our continent.”

A continental commitment which, according to Constant NEMALE, founder of the AFRICA24 Media Group (President of Afrimedia International), is a priority mission for all the continent’s media: “We are honoured and proud to join the AfCFTA secretariat in this historic agreement. In line with the objectives assigned to us by the African Union in the MoU signed in 2019, and in synergy with our reference institutional partner the Republic of Cameroon, AFRICA24 Group will invest in developing premium content to serve Africa’s development, in the image of the successful collaboration with Afreximbank. This agreement will enable Groupe AFRICA24 to amplify the positive effects of the AfCFTA on the continent’s economic growth and integration, but also through our leadership and our status as a member of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), Groupe AFRICA24 aims to be the catalyst for bringing together the greatest number of media in a common action and vision”.

The multi-year Memorandum of Understanding, which represents a considerable asset for the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AFRICA24 Group, will be a platform for innovative, inclusive collaboration, for the joint construction of a more integrated and prosperous Africa in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AFRICA24 Group.

Institutional contact:
AfCFTA Secretariat
Grace KHOZA
Communications Director
grace.khoza@au-afcfta.org 

AFRICA24 Media Group
Gaëlle Stella ONANA
Communications Director
onana@africa24tv.com

About the AfCFTA:
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), effective since May 30, 2019, is one of the flagship projects of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 “the Africa we want”, which aims to accelerate intra-African trade and make effective a common market for more than 1.5 billion people by eliminating all forms of barriers to trade and being a source of added value for the economy of the African continent.

About AFRICA24 Group:
AFRICA24 Group, launched in 2009, is the leading TV media group on the African continent, and the leading medium for decision-makers and executives on the continent and around the world. Publisher of 4 HD channels available 24 hours a day, AFRICA24 is the only pioneer and leader in news channels on Africa with AFRICA24 and AFRICA24 English, as well as the leading sports channel AFRICA24 Sport and the reference channel for the creative industries AFRICA24 Infinity. Since 2024, AFRICA24 Group has been the publisher of myafrica24 (Google Play), the first HD Streaming TV platform on Africa accessible worldwide. The AFRICA24 Group, whose signal is picked up by all the world’s leading operators and bouquets (Canal+, Bouygues, Orange, Bell…), is accessible in over 90 million homes in Africa and around the world, and has over 8 million subscribers on its various web platforms and social networks.

In 2022, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) developed the National Quality Policy and Strategy (NQPS) and the National Healthcare facilities Quality Standards (HQS) to strengthen healthcare service quality in support of its overarching vision and mission. The objective of the Hospital Quality Standards (HQS) in Namibia is to enhance the quality and safety of healthcare services, ensuring consistent, effective, and patient-centered care delivery across all hospitals to improve overall health outcomes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) through the Government of Japan funded project aimed to increasing access to quality nutrition and protection services for vulnerable populations including women and children in Omaheke, Khomas and Kunene regions, supported the MoHSS Quality Assurance Division (QAD) to conduct a one-day sensitization meeting in Windhoek on 23 May 2024. The meeting presented updates on the implementation progress of NQPS and HQS to various national MoHSS directorates and gathered further support to address identified gaps. In 2023, HQS was implemented in ten hospitals from zero (26%) and implementation was extended to nine primary healthcare (PHC) facilities (3%) in 2024. This initiative aims to prepare these facilities for external accreditation by an international body in 2025, demonstrating significant progress in institutional healthcare quality.

The meeting key discussion points focused on the four strategic objectives: improving quality management systems, patient and healthcare worker safety, client-centered care, and clinical practices. Additionally, the progress made on the implementation of the Quality Healthcare Standards across ten selected hospitals was also shared.

The outcomes of the meeting were notably constructive, with key recommendations focusing on the sustainability of the quality improvement initiatives at national, regional and district level and the proposal to establish a dedicated QM Directorate within MoHSS. Moreover, participants emphasized on the importance of further engagement within the MoHSS to enhance the dissemination and facilitate support for ongoing Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives. Sharing these results with the directorates is crucial as it not only demonstrate the results of implementing HQS but also reinforces the collective commitment to achieving the MoHSS’ overall vision of being the leading provider of quality health care and social services according to international set standards 

The meeting was attended by 15 participants from various MoHSS directorates and WHO. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Namibia.