By Samuel Ouma The 41st annual summit of CeraWeek, the world's energy conference, will kick off on March 8-10 in the Westin Houston Downtown, Unites States of America. The conference will bring together energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, and leaders from the technology, financial and industrial communities. Under the theme of Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security, the meeting will examine how the energy transition is affected by a new global uncertainty and upheaval period. The conference will examine the issues of decreasing emissions while meeting rising energy demand as the world deals with the long-term effects of a pandemic, shifting geopolitics, economic insecurity, and war turmoil. The conference program for CERAWeek 2023 will focus on significant subjects relating to the Energy Trilemma: Balancing Security, Transition, and Affordability; Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: An Era of Volatility and Competition, Technology, and Innovation. Additional focus areas include Energy Future Financing: The shift to capital Future Workforce: Supply Chains, Commodity Markets, and Energy Transition Next-generation skills and diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). On the margins of CERAWeek will be the Africa Energy Business Roundtable, an initiative of AfricaEnergyFutures and the Texas Africa Chamber of Commerce. The theme of the Business Roundtable is “Accelerating Technical Cooperation, Finance and Investments for Decarbonization in Africa’s Fossil Energy Sector”. The Africa Energy Business Roundtable will provide a suitable venue for discussing the US-Africa Oil and Gas Ecosystem's Joint Statement and creating a New Marshal Plan for a net zero Africa Oil and Gas Economy. It will allow for a re-calibration of US-Africa strategic engagement, particularly in the financing, decarbonization technologies, human capital development, and market development. Among the participants in the roundtable include African Energy Departments, NOCs, Oil and Gas Regulatory organizations, Local Content Development Agencies, International Oil Companies and National Oil Companies and Energy Tech Companies. The rest are Global Investment Banks, Climate Finance Companies, Alternative Finance Institutions, Professional Service Companies Serving the Fossil Energy Sector Companies, International Development Finance Institutions and The Diplomatic Community. "The Africa Energy Business Roundtable is designed to enable high level focused policy and business networking that helps African Delegations and participating organizations engaged in or seeking to do business in Africa's petroleum producing economies to leverage their presence at CERAWEEK in Houston-Texas, the global oil and gas epicenter," stated the Africa Energy Business Roundtable. The roundtable will also provide a progressive platform to forge new partnerships and activate new cross-border transactions and initiatives. The Africa Energy Business Roundtable will culminate with a "Jambo Africana" Evening Reception. This initiative is a follow-up to the Biden Administration's recent Diplomatic Engagement in Africa in the aftermath of the recent US Africa Leaders Summit. It also follows the recent Energy Importers and Exporters Declaration on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuels, issued on November 11, 2022, by the governments of the United States, the European Union, Japan, Canada, Norway, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Some of the prominent names at the roundtable will include –Dr Mike Howard, Chair of the World Energy Council, Wayne Christian, Oil and Gas Commissioner, RailRoad Commission of Texas ,Mr Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director NNPC Limited ,Mr Jose Barroso, Secretary of State for Oil and Gas, Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Angola, Mr Paulino Jeronimo, President, Angola Agency for Oil, Gas and BioFuels Ms Tafadzwa Pasipanodya, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP, Dr Peter Ntephe , CEO ERHC Energy, H.E. Giti Zarinkelk, Honorary Consul, Republic of Namibia, H.E. Ana Paula do Nascimento, Consul General, Consulate of the Embassy of Angola in Houston. Register Here