London, United Kingdom, April 24, 2018 — The substantial oil and gas resources on the African continent have the potential to catalyze and accelerate economic growth, if used strategically. In light of changing technologies and policies and the nature of the international oil and gas industry, appropriate development strategies are not always evident.
To help build and maintain strong relationships between international and national oil companies and their respective host governments, the African Legal Support Facility attended the 2018 International Petroleum Summit that was held for the first time in London from April 23-25. The event’s more than 400 participants included government officials, petroleum sector policy-makers, and the executives of leading oil companies, including Total, Shell, and Repsol.
Egon van der Hoeven, Asia Pacific and Middle East Manager of ExxonMobil Exploration Company, explained that, “A number of key questions were addressed at the conference by some of the leading names within the industry. What exit strategy is private equity pursuing? And what are project lifecycles going to look like?”
To address these pressing questions, the ALSF sponsored the 2018 IPS and also actively participated in a high-level panel event that aims to share and explore the outlooks and concerns of governments and their legal counsels, especially regarding exploration and production contracts. Senior Legal Counsel Thierno Olory-Togbe was a panelist in the session, Perspectives from Advisors to Governments on Upstream E&P Contracts and Legislation.
For more information on the 2018 International Petroleum Summit, please visit: www.InternationalPetroleumSummit.org.
About AIPN
The Association of International Petroleum Negotiators is an independent not-for-profit professional membership association that supports international energy negotiators around the world and enhances their effectiveness and professionalism in the international energy community.
About ALSF
The African Legal Support Facility is an international organization hosted by the African Development Bank Group that is dedicated to providing legal advice and technical assistance to African countries in their negotiation of complex commercial transactions, creditor litigation and other related sovereign transactions. The ALSF also develops and proposes innovative tools for capacity building and knowledge management. http://www.aflsf.org/