The AAPG/SPE Africa Energy and Technology Conference attracted more than 170 delegates and offered 48 technical papers and 20 poster presentations.
The conference’s opening ceremony took place on 5 December 2016, and included welcoming remarks from Andrew Kamau, principal secretary, state department for petroleum, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Kenya; MaryJane Mwangi, Ag. CEO, National Oil Corporation Kenya (NOCK); Paul Britt, AAPG president; and Janeen Judah, SPE president.
The conference’s first day also featured a keynote address by Christopher Smith, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, who spoke about powering Africa through LNG development. The first day also encompassed a high-profile executive plenary session presented by Smith; Emeka Ene, CEO, Oildata Inc. and Xenergi; Keith Hill, president and CEO, Africa Oil Corp; Andrew Kamau, principal secretary, State Department for Petroleum, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Kenya; Dr. Scott W. Tinker, director, Bureau of Economic Geology, the University of Texas at Austin; MaryJane Mwangi, Ag. CEO, National Oil Corporation Kenya (represented by Francis N. Njugun).
The second day started with a panel session on “Social Responsibility; Smart Goals for a Sustainable Future.” The panel included presentations by Manuel Gracas de Deus, general manager — Health, Environment and Safety, Chevron Africa & Latin America; Bill Haskett, managing director, Haskett Consulting International; Gurjeet Phull Jenkins, country manager-Kenya, Anadarko; Dr. Connie Martinon, social affairs manager, Total Exploration and Production, and lecturer at the University of Nairobi; and Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE president, Chevron.
That night, Scott Tinker introduced the movie “Switch,” a documentary based on his personal visits to 20 of the world’s leading energy sites in 11 countries, and featuring more than 50 filmed interviews with top industry, academic and government leaders. The screening also attracted students from local universities who were specifically invited for this occasion.
Third day highlights included a panel session on petroleum regulation and contract sanctity. The panelists included: Sam Abraham, Geothermal Project manager; Ali Uwais, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company; Luca Dragonetti, managing director, Eni; Clovice Irumba, senior geochemist, Petroleum Authority of Uganda; Phillip Steyn, vice president and chief operating officer, Rhino Resources.
Also offered that day was a special program featuring the luncheon keynote speech by Scott Tinker on “Energy Security, Energy Poverty, and Peace.” A closing ceremony brought the conference to an end.
We at AAPG would like to thank the Executive Committee and Technical Program Committee members for their tremendous efforts and support of this conference. We also would like to thank and recognize the sponsors of the conference.
Finally, we would like to thank all speakers and poster presenter for being a part of this conference.