“The Oil & Gas Meeting Day – Service Industry was an arena for the meeting of Service Companies and Operators of the EG oil and gas industry” – Vanessa Neyam, Senior Associate at Clarence Abogados.

2019 has been declared the Year of Energy in Equatorial Guinea and in line with this initiative, the National Association of Hydrocarbons Service Companies (NAHSCO) organized the first ever Oil & Gas Meeting Day – Service Industry Conference in Malabo.

The Event

This event took place on the 1st and 2nd of October 2019 at the international conference center in Sipopo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

This conference, which welcomed delegates from both within and outside Equatorial Guinea, had as objectives among others to:

• create a meeting point for the in-country operators and service companies in the Oil & Gas Industry;
• explore partnership opportunities and facilitate deal-making among national and international service providers in the oil and gas industry;
• showcase the local content of the Equatoguinean market in terms of goods and services useful for the oil and gas sector;
• provide a platform to exchange experiences and best industry practices on local content, which is one of the key themes of the program and is critical to the development of African capabilities across the oil and gas value chain;
• further support and buttress the fact that the Equatoguinean market has competent local service companies to assist operators of the Oil and Gas industry; and
• create opportunities for and strengthen cooperation among African service companies in the oil and gas sector.

Attendees

The Conference hosted dignitaries such as the Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Congo H.E. Jean Marc Thystere Tchicaya; Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima and Equatorial Guinea’s Prime Minister H.E. Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue.

National companies operating within the industry were equally represented in numbers next to IOCs such as Trident Energy, Kosmos Energy, Noble Energy, Marathon Oil, Exxon Mobil, Total, GePetrol, Luba Oil Terminal Equatorial Guinea, with Clarence Abogados & Asociados, Nalco Champion EG S.A.R.L, Apex Industries and K5 Freeport being major sponsors of the event.

Discussions

The Conference was a platform to present some service companies of the oil industry whom Operators may have not been aware were operating in the country as well as the number of countries they cover.

Other interesting panel discussions included effective implementation of local content laws in the day to day operations of the oil and gas industry; logistics, supply chain management and aviation services for the oil and gas industry amongst others.

Presentations were given by the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Economy and Planning, the Mayor of Malabo, the International Monetary Fund, GETESA, coupled with two workshop presentations by Noble Energy and ExxonMobil.

Outcome

The conference was a success, especially given that it was the first time such a conference was being organised in Equatorial Guinea. The tremendous support of H.E. the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons was undisputed and played a key role in the success of the event.

The event enabled Operators and other active companies in the industry to discover some service providers operating in country which they were not aware of. It equally showcased the capacity of the Equatorial Guinean community to provide sufficiently skilled local capabilities for the benefits of the industry.

As a major sponsor of the Oil & Gas Meeting Day – Service Industry Conference 2019, Clarence Abogados is looking forward to more of such events and invite more local companies to participate to increase their exposure to more IOCs and potential investors. Clarence is looking forward to sponsor future events of this nature.

Our next stop will be the Africa Oil & Power flagship Conference in Capetown from the 9th-11th of October 2019 and the 2nd International Gas Conference which will be hosted in Malabo on the 27th of November 2019. This year Clarence will also be sponsoring the Mamba Run Punta Europa Golf Tournament.

ABOUT CLARENCE
Clarence offers its clients the freedom to operate in Africa. Thanks to our diverse resources, we understand Africa better than most firms. We assist clients to identify, assess and effectively minimise operational legal and regulatory risks. We develop creative and efficient solutions to operational challenges, so our clients can focus on growth and revenue. Our approach is to bridge the gap between external and in-house counsels. Our areas of practice include Energy and Natural Resources, Real Estate, Construction, Joint Ventures, Corporate and Commercial, Risk Management & Compliance, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Government Relations, Customs and Taxation, Employment and Immigration, Aviation and Telecommunications. For enquiries, please contact us at info@clarenceabogados.com