Hon. Freddie Blay, Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), has confirmed his participation at the upcoming
African Energy Week (AEW) conference and exhibition, Africa’s premier event for the oil and gas sector, which will take place from October 18-21 this year in Cape Town. As the head of the board of Ghana’s National Oil Company (NOC), Hon. Blay will lead a delegation from the GNPC, participating in a number of industry-focused panel sessions and highlighting the latest developments and innovations being undertaken by the NOC to revamp the country’s oil and gas market.
Since taking office as GNPC’s Board Chairman, Hon. Blay has been instrumental in shaping key policy reforms, with massive exploration, production and infrastructure rollout projects having materialized, positioning Ghana as a competitive oil and gas investment destination. Notably, the construction of the $550 million Tema Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility commenced – representing both the country’s and sub-Saharan Africa’s first LNG import terminal –whilst the Sankofa Gas project was fast-tracked to address both domestic and regional energy security.
In the oil sector, a number of positive developments aimed at boosting production have already been recorded and many more are set to follow. Tullow Oil, for example, launched a $350 million investment program to increase output in the Jubilee offshore oilfield while Eni and Kosmos Energy, in partnership with GNPC, increased exploration spending in the west African market. With the demand for African oil and gas expanding both at domestic level – as Africa seeks to lift over 600 million people out energy poverty while providing access to clean cooking to over 900 million people – and at international level – as markets such as Europe seek to diversify energy supply away from Russia -, Hon. Blay is well positioned to shape discussions around the future of African energy.
With the NOC prioritizing maximizing foreign direct investments to boost upstream, midstream and downstream activities to optimize the exploitation of domestic hydrocarbon resources in a bid to reduce the west African country's dependence on crude oil imports whilst ensuring that Ghana achieves its 100% universal electricity access target by 2030, AEW 2022 presents the best platform for Hon. Blay to highlight investment opportunities across the country’s entire oil and gas value chain.
A lawyer and politician by profession, at AEW 2022, Hon. Blay will participate in high-level meetings as well as the NOC Forum, discussing the role NOCs play in boosting investment and development across Africa’s hydrocarbon market.
“The African Energy Chamber (AEC) is honored to once again host Hon. Blay at Africa’s leading investment platform for the oil and gas sector as we shape the continent’s own narrative of a just and inclusive energy transition. Ghana is one of Africa’s most promising gas markets, and having a visionary like Hon. Blay share best practices and innovative strategies for how the continent can address industry challenges at AEW 2022 will be a game changer,” stated NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the AEC.
Under the theme, ‘Exploring and Investing in Africa’s Energy Future while Driving an Enabling Environment,’ AEW 2022 will host Hon. Blay in discussions around how Africa can boost investment in oil and gas exploration and production, as well as across the entire energy value chain to make energy poverty history by 2030.
Media Contact:
For sales related inquiries please contact sales@aecweek.com
For attendance related inquiries contact registration@aecweek.com
For speaker related inquiries contact speakers@aecweek.com
For media related inquiries contact media@aecweek.com.About African Energy Week (AEW):AEW 2022 is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. AEW 2022 unites African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development and promote Africa as the destination for energy investments. Key organizations such as the African Petroleum Producers Organization, as well as African heavyweights including Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, have partnered with AEW, strengthening the role the event will play in Africa’s energy future.