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Tag: 2024

  • Republic of Congo Hydrocarbons Minister to Discuss Gas Monetization at Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2024

    Republic of Congo Hydrocarbons Minister to Discuss Gas Monetization at Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2024

    LUANDA, Angola, July 4, 2024/ — Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Congo (ROC), has joined the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference as a speaker. During the conference – scheduled for October 2-3 in Luanda – Minister Itoua will provide insight into emerging opportunities in oil exploration, gas monetization and LNG development, as well as potential areas for collaboration between the two countries.

    Both ROC and Angola have set bold production targets, aiming to increase oil output to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 1.1 million bpd, respectively. Both countries’ favorable investment climates have sparked the interest of a strong slate of E&P firms, with AOG 2024 set to not only support national oil and gas objectives, but also offer a platform for engagement in emerging cross-border projects.

    AOG is the largest oil and gas event in Angola. Taking place with the full support of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas; national oil company Sonangol; the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency; the African Energy Chamber; and the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute, the event is a platform to sign deals and advance Angola’s oil and gas industry. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

    To support oil production, ROC is promoting investment in frontier exploration alongside incremental production from existing assets. The Central African country – with 1.8 billion barrels of proven oil reserves – has several upstream campaigns underway that aim to unlock new discoveries.

    Independent energy company Perenco, for example, completed 3D seismic surveys at the Tchibouela II, Tchendo II, Marine XXVIII and Emeraude permits in November 2023. Energy major TotalEnergies has announced plans to invest $600 million to drive exploration and production activities in the country, specifically through the development of the Moho Nord field.
    The field currently accounts for nearly half of total Congolese oil production, producing an estimated 140,000 bpd. The investment will support drilling operations in line with national targets to bolster output.

    Meanwhile, ROC is committed to monetizing its gas resources through both associated and non-associated projects. The country reached a milestone in March 2024 with the delivery of its first LNG cargo to Italy from the Congo LNG development.

    As the country’s inaugural LNG facility, the project employed a fast-tracked approach whereby LNG was produced just 12 months after FID. By 2025, the Congo LNG project is expected to produce 2.4 million tons per annum, with ROC joining the likes of Angola as a major African LNG exporter.

    Further supporting its gas monetization drive, ROC is making progress with the development of the Bango Kayo project. Set to reach peak oil production of 50,000 bpd, project developer Wing Wah is deploying an integrated approach to expand the project through multiple phases.

    The project will begin monetizing previously-flared gas to support the country’s industrial sector, serving as a model for other African oil producers including Angola, which is striving to maximize production from mature assets.

    Minister Itoua’s participation at AOG 2024 not only speaks to the caliber of the event as the premier oil and gas conference in Angola, but creates new opportunities for bilateral collaboration in the fields of LNG production and oilfield development.

    Angola and ROC – both offering promising opportunities in offshore exploration and tie-ins to existing onshore infrastructure – represent highly attractive hydrocarbons markets, with the AOG 2024 conference set to connect global investors with prospective opportunities.

    Minister Itoua will be joined by Maixent Raoul Ominga, Managing Director of the Congo’s national oil company Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo at AOG 2024. For more information, visit www.AngolaOilAndGas.com.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

    SOURCE
    Energy Capital & Power

  • Small Island Nations Demand Urgent Global Action at SIDS4 Conference

    Small Island Nations Demand Urgent Global Action at SIDS4 Conference

    The once-in-a-decade SIDS Conference opened in Antigua and Barbuda today, with a clear message: the world already knows the challenges that SIDS face—now it’s time for action.

    ANTIGUA, May 27 2024 (IPS) – “This year has been the hottest in history in practically every corner of the globe, foretelling severe impacts on our ecosystems and starkly underscoring the urgency of our predicament.

    We are gathered here not merely to reiterate our challenges, but to demand and enact solutions,” declared Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Brown at the opening of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States on May 27.

    The world’s 39 small island developing states are meeting on the Caribbean island this week. It is a pivotal, once-a-decade meeting for small states that contribute little to global warming, but are disproportionately impacted by climate change. The Caribbean leader reminded the world that SIDS are being forced to survive crises that they did not create.

    “The scales of equity and justice are unevenly balanced against us. The large-scale polluters whose CO2 emissions have fuelled these catastrophic climate changes bear a responsibility—an obligation of compensation to aid in our quest to build resilience,” he said.

    “The Global North must honor its commitments, including the pivotal pledge of one hundred billion dollars in climate financing to assist with adaptation and mitigation as well as the effective capitalization and operationalization of the loss and damage fund. These are imperative investments in humanity, in justice, and in the equitable future of humanity.”

    Urgent Support Needed from the International Community

    United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the gathering that the previous ten years have presented significant challenges to SIDS and hindered development. These include extreme weather events and the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He says SIDS, islands that are “exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally resilient, but exceptionally vulnerable,” need urgent support from the international community, led by the nations that are both responsible for the challenges they face and have the capacity to deal with them.

    “The idea that an entire island state could become collateral damage for profiteering by the fossil fuel industry, or competition between major economies, is simply obscene,” the Secretary General said, adding, “Small Island Developing States have every right and reason to insist that developed economies fulfill their pledge to double adaptation financing by 2025. And we must hold them to this commitment as a bare minimum.

    Many SIDS desperately need adaptation measures to protect agriculture, fisheries, water resources and infrastructure from extreme climate impacts you did virtually nothing to create.”

    Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS)

    The theme for SIDS4 is Charting the Course Toward Resilient Prosperity and the small islands have been praised for collective action in the face of crippling crises. Their voices were crucial to the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.

    Out of this conference will come the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS). President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, says that programme of action will guide SIDS on a path to resilience and prosperity for the next decade.

    “ The next ten years will be critical in making sustained concrete progress on the SIDS agenda – and we must make full use of this opportunity to supercharge our efforts around sustainability,” he said.

    The SIDS4 conference grounds in Antigua and Barbuda will be a flurry of activity over the next four days. Apart from plenaries, there are over 170 side events hosted by youth, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, and universities, covering a range of issues from renewable energy to climate financing.

    They have been reminded by Prime Minister Gaston Browne that this is a crucial juncture in the history of small island developing states, where “actions, or failure to act, will dictate the fate of SIDS and the legacy left for future generations.”

    IPS UN Bureau Report

  • Africa enters epic global AI innovation race, joining world’s tech capitals as an epicentre for digital advancement

    Africa enters epic global AI innovation race, joining world’s tech capitals as an epicentre for digital advancement

    Marrakech, Morocco: The AI mania that’s transforming business, government and society globally is also igniting waves of innovation across Africa, with the shape-shifting tech’s existential prospects powering a cross-continental investment surge at the AI Everything Expo by GITEX AFRICA in Morocco next month.

    Africa’s epic AI opportunity is already disrupting digital advancements in diverse sectors from finance and agriculture, to healthcare and mobility, all fueling a booming AI market that, according to analysts Statista, will grow 30 percent annually over the next six years to value US$17 billion by 2030.

    This massive AI rush combined with a rapidly growing population of 1.5 billion people – of which 70 percent are under the age of 30 – creates a potent recipe of AI acceleration, but highlights gaps in talent development, venture allocation, policy and infrastructure.

    These crucial challenges and opportunities will be addressed when the world’s AI cognoscenti and pivotal power players of its widespread deployment unite to fast-track the continent’s next big tech shift at the AI Everything Expo by GITEX AFRICA, the year’s largest and most progressive platform for AI exploration and deep tech innovation.

    Taking place from 29-31 May 2024 in Marrakech, Africa’s powerhouse tech showcase will feature the world’s tech titans spearheading the AI gold rush, including Microsoft, IBM, Huawei, Nvidia, and Google, along with hundreds of AI ambitious start-ups from across the globe with grand visions to change Africa via AI-infused products and services.

    An AI continent ‘brimming with investment opportunity’

    Microsoft, the world’s most valuable company, and GITEX AFRICA’s official AI Partner, is leading the way in the AI investment race, having forged partnerships with the world’s hottest makers of AI models, including the UAE’s G42, a global leader in visionary AI.

    Microsoft’s recent US$1.5 billion strategic investment in G42 to accelerate AI development in growing economies such as Africa will be welcomed by big tech executives, government leaders, investors and tech entrepreneurs alike at GITEX AFRICA 2024, which will also feature Presight, G42’s big data analytics company powered by generative AI.

    Lillian Barnard, President of Microsoft Africa, said AI can unlock a continent “brimming with investment opportunity.” “Africa has long been recognised for its formidable growth prospects and AI is the long-awaited key to help unlock that potential,” said Barnard, who will also be a headline speaker at GITEX AFRICA’s power-packed conference programme.

    “The AI-powered innovation we’re seeing today is poised to reinvent every aspect of society from healthcare to financial services, manufacturing and beyond. If Africa is to benefit from the paradigm shift currently sweeping the globe, we must make the promise of AI real for people and organisations across the continent – and do so responsibly. GITEX provides us with a platform to come together and work towards fulfilling that commitment.”

    Dr. Adel Alsharji, the COO of Presight, added that Africa is the second-fastest growing region globally in AI adoption. “Africa’s AI journey is gaining momentum, and this progress highlights the continent’s readiness to explore and harness the potential of AI for driving economic growth and addressing local challenges,” said Alsharji, adding that demand for AI-related jobs will increase two-fold over the next three years. “AI could add US$13 trillion to the global economy by 2030, while the number of AI-related jobs in Africa alone is expected to grow by 200 percent by 2025.”

    A formidable African force in a world-changing AI revolution  

    The AI Everything Expo will gather the brightest minds and most innovative thinkers in the field of AI at the AI Everything Conference, one of 10 powerful conference stages at GITEX AFRICA, the continent’s largest tech and start-up show.

    Headline speakers leading the AI phenomenon include Dragoș Tudorache, Vice-President of the Renew Europe Group; Mactar Seck, Chief of Technology and Innovation at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); and Jepson Taylor, Former Chief AI Strategist, Dataiku.

    AI and it’s far-reaching multisectoral impact will be evident on the exhibition floor, with exhibitors showcasing how the AI boom is turbocharging waves of innovation across industries, from education and agriculture, to transport, retail, energy, or logistics.

    Clinify, a Nigerian start-up epitomises this movement in the healthcare sector, and is one of hundreds of global change-makers at GITEX AFRICA’s North Star Africa start-up showcase. Clinify, an electronic medical record (EMR) platform seeks to digitise patients’ medical records in Africa, where 90 percent of such information is still paper based.

    CEO and Founder Michael Omidele, said there’s an urgent need for centralised and digitised medical records. “Africa’s healthcare sector faces several challenges; there’s only one doctor available for every 10,000 patients whereas the average in developed countries is one doctor for every 250 people,” said Omidele.

    “Clinify is a one of a kind African solution offering a digitally centralised and standardised interoperable aggregator of healthcare systems, a telemedicine platform, and an EMR solution giving patients access to their medical records. Our goal is to network with healthcare providers, to expand this innovation from Nigeria and export it across Africa.”

    Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, GITEX AFRICA is held under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, in partnership with Morocco’s Digital Development Agency. The 2nd blockbuster edition, organised by KAOUN International, follows its pioneering debut in 2023.

    More information is available at www.gitexafrica.com.

  • WCEF2024: Europe urgently needs a circular single market to safeguard economic security

    WCEF2024: Europe urgently needs a circular single market to safeguard economic security

    Policy makers recently convened  at the European Council,Brussels,Belgium, to find ways to strengthen the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the EU.

    European leaders received an urgent demand from the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2024.

    The clear message from nearly 10,000 circular economy experts from around the world was that implementing circularity is crucial for securing economic prosperity and unlocking well-being by reducing the overuse of non-renewable natural resources.

    The forum, which took place in Brussels 15-18 April 2024, highlighted the importance of the EU’s role in accelerating the transition to a circular economy globally.

    “Developing the EU’s single market to support circularity would create new business opportunities, jobs and security for all Europeans. This would strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness. It would also send a powerful signal of a predictable investment environment,” says Atte Jääskeläinen, President of the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the initiator of the WCEF.

    “The solutions pathway to maintain quality of life and economic competitiveness is getting narrower and steeper, and there are less and more urgent options on our policy menu than decades ago. But with decisive action and political courage, a sustainable future is still possible for all by decoupling growth of resource use from human well-being,” says Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel (IRP).

    “Continuing to benchmark circularity and measure progress, setting new ‘rules of the game’ through policy will be crucial next steps for Europe. Moreover, radical collaboration across the globe will be fundamental in driving the transition at the speed and scale necessary,” says Ivonne Bojoh, CEO of Circle Economy Foundation.

    The circular economy offers major economic opportunities for Europe. Across the continent, companies from startups to large enterprises are developing innovative solutions that create new businesses and combat biodiversity loss. This trend is exemplified by a list of Europe’s 30 leading circular solutions for nature, published by Sitra on 15 April. However, appropriate regulation is essential for companies to scale their operations across Europe.

    “You need funding to do right investments and innovation, you also need policies and frameworks that give us security about what is going to happen,” stated Veerle Slenders at the event. She is Executive Vice-President for Recycling at Umicore, a global materials technology and recycling enterprise.

    The WCEF2024 brought more than 1,500 frontrunners of circularity to Brussels, Belgium. In addition, the event has been followed online by almost 8,000 people around the world. The number of countries represented at this year’s forum was 158.

    Frontrunners of circularity at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024 in Brussels called for ambitious European policies and implementation of circularity to ensure economic prosperity, including in low-income countries. The EU announced the establishment of a new Circular Economy Resource Centre to speed up the worldwide transition to circularity. The next WCEF will be held in São Paulo, Brazil in May 2025.

    In a circular economy, offers  more value from what is at hand by making products that last and by keeping those products in active use as long as possible. This also reduces the need to extract new natural resources, leaving more room for nature to thrive.

    The World Circular Economy FoRum(WCEF) creates a new economy, businesses and jobs, by leveraging circular solutions to solve the planetary crisis.

    Since 2017, the forum has gathered forward-looking thinkers and doers to showcase and enact the world’s leading circular economy solutions.

    WCEF is a global initiative of Finland and the Finnish Innovation Fund(SITRA).It is organised by Sitra and produced with Circle Economy Foundation (programme partner) and the International Resource Panel (science partner), in close collaboration with international partner organisations.

    SOURCE

    SITRA

  • From COP28 to a circular world: Investments need to focus on the circular economy alongside renewables

    From COP28 to a circular world: Investments need to focus on the circular economy alongside renewables

    In the wake of COP28, which called upon parties to transition away from fossil fuels, the World Circular Economy Forum 2024 (WCEF2024) emerges as a landmark event that highlights the circular economy as the premier post-fossil fuel investment frontier. WCEF2024 will take place in Brussels, Belgium from 15-18 April, and convenes thousands of experts to explore the vast opportunities that the circular economy presents.

    HELSINKI, 24 January 2024 – The transition from fossil fuels to renewables is imperative, yet alongside this, a strong focus on circularity is also needed. This means we must commit to manage all materials more sustainably, reducing dependence on fragile supply chains and alleviating pressure on nature.

    The opportunities in the circular economy are enormous. According to Circle Economy Foundation’s global “Circularity Gap Report 2024” which was published today, the global economy is currently only 7.2% circular, emphasising the untapped economic potential in this transformational shift.

    “We are convinced that the next big play in the investment arena we’ll see is around circular solutions,” states Atte Jääskeläinen, president of the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the initiator of WCEF. “Regulations are essential for steering investment flows towards circularity, which is crucial for the sustainable development of societies. This shift is necessary to tackle overconsumption of natural resources.”

    This year, the landmark event of the circular economy underlines the world’s extraordinary opportunities after the decisions made in the UN’s Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai last December. The final outcomes of COP28 noted circular economy approaches as a tool in the transition to sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

    The co-chair of the UN’s International Resource Panel (IRP) Janez Potočnik notes that it is possible to mitigate growth in resource use while growing the economy, reducing inequality, improving well-being, and significantly reducing environmental impacts. “Our economic system is wasteful and unjust. Material (over)use is a main element of global sustainability and equality challenges deserving proper policy attention.”

    Initial findings of the IRP’s upcoming flagship report, the “Global Resources Outlook 2024”, show the undeniable need for a circular economy: The use of new (virgin) materials has continued to grow on average over 2.3 per cent per year. Without urgent and concerted action to change the way resources are used, material resource extraction could increase by almost 60 per cent from current levels by 2060, from 100 to 160 billion tonnes.

    “After decisions made in the COP28, there is plenty of room for wiser, circular solutions among global systems – for example in agrifood, mobility and consumables”, says Ivonne Bojoh, CEO of Circle Economy Foundation. “We must reform our finance and labour policies to put in place lasting and impactful changes that address the root cause of climate change and social inequity.”

    The World Circular Economy Forum WCEF is a global initiative of Finland and Sitra. This year marks the 8th iteration of WCEF. As a collaboration platform for circular economy thinkers and doers from all over the world, the forum strengthens its science-based approach through new partnerships with the International Resource Panel (as a science partner) and Circle Economy Foundation (as a programme partner). WCEF2024 is organised also in collaboration with several other international partners.

    In addition to showcasing solutions from around the world, WCEF2024 offers plenaries, parallel sessions and hands-on workshops. The forum also collaborates with two major players in Brussels: the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform who delivers a European track to the main event, and the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union who curates a full day of accelerator sessions on 17 April, including site visits to circular economy companies in Belgium.
    If you are interested in learning more about the event and taking action to build a sustainable, circular future, please visit the WCEF2024 website.

    Further information on the event

    Mika Sulkinoja, Project Director of WCEF, Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, mika.sulkinoja@sitra.fi, tel. +358 50 357 1723

    Rebecca Nohl, Sherpa to Janez Potočnik (co-chair of IRP), Systemiq, rebecca.nohl@systemiq.earth

    Ilektra Kouloumpi, Senior Innovation and Global Alliances Lead, Circle Economy Foundation, ilektra@circle-economy.com

    Media contacts

    Samuli Laita, Media liaison of the WCEF, Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, samuli.laita@sitra.fi, tel. +358 40 5368650

    Amy Kummetha, Communications Manager, Circle Economy Foundation, amy@circle-economy.com

    Media accreditation, the media kit and online briefing

    Accreditation for media participants is open. Please find the registration form as well as the media kit at www.wcef2024.com/media.

    An online media briefing will be held for journalists on 8 April from 14:00 (CEST). To register, please follow the WCEF2024’s media website and subscribe to the newsletter!