Nigeria and seven other African nations have signed the African Petroleum Regulators Forum (AFRIPERF) Charter, in what officials described as a landmark step towards harmonising oil and gas regulations across the continent.
The signing ceremony was held on Thursday on the sidelines of the 31st Africa Oil Week in Accra, Ghana, and chaired by the Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, Komolafe — who also serves as interim chairman of the forum — described the occasion as “a decisive step towards building a harmonised and sustainable petroleum industry in Africa.”
The statement added, “Nigeria has once again demonstrated leadership in Africa’s oil and gas sector by spearheading the signing of a charter to establish the African Petroleum Regulators Forum.”
Eight countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Gambia, Madagascar, Sudan, Guinea, and Togo — endorsed the charter. Meanwhile, Kenya, Mauritania, Benin, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, and Morocco pledged support and promised to join at a later date after consultations.
Komolafe noted that the forum had been in the works since its proposal at the 8th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in 2024, with preliminary meetings held in July and November of that year.
The AFRIPERF Charter sets out a mission “to enhance cooperation and collaboration among African petroleum regulators, to ensure a safe, efficient, rewarding, equitable, and sustainable petroleum industry.”
Its vision is to serve as the premier platform for African regulators to share knowledge, best practices, and expertise.
The charter also outlines principles to foster collaboration, promote regulatory harmonisation, safeguard environmental standards, strengthen regulatory capacity, and attract investment.
It further seeks to protect the collective interests of member states internationally, while advancing energy transition goals such as digitalisation, renewable integration, and emission reduction.
Komolafe stressed that Africa must act with “innovation, responsibility, and foresight” as the world navigates the shift towards cleaner energy.
He also recommended that AFRIPERF’s Annual General Meeting be aligned with Africa Oil Week to maximise visibility and participation.
The signing was witnessed by regulators from 16 countries, with Nigeria’s Senate Committee Chairman on Upstream, Senator Etang Williams, attending as an observer.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Discover more from Energy News Africa
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.