APPO: Kachikwu reelected president, Nigeria appointed JMMC member

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, has been re-elected the President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation, APPO, for the year 2019, as Nigeria is appointed Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, JMMC member .

A statement emanating from  Abuja, signed by the Deputy Director, Press, of the Petroleum Ministry,  Mr. Olujimi Oyetomi, said the elevation of Nigeria to the JMMC was in recognition of the key role Nigeria played in the diplomatic shuttles and negotiations that led to the founding of the DoC in 2016.

According to the spokesperson, the re-election was part of a move that would allow Kachikwu conclude the ongoing reforms and restructuring of the organisation.

“The re-election of Kachikwu took place during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the APPO which held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea under the high patronage of H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

“The Ministerial Session had in attendance, APPO Ministers drawn from 13 member-countries; namely: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Côte dIvoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Niger, and Nigeria.”

He added that, “Under Kachikwu’s presidency of APPO in 2015-2016, the organisation embarked on a major reform aimed at sharpening the focus of the organisation, enhancing professionalism and strengthening the capacity of the APPO Secretariat to conduct studies that will enhance the productivity of the African oil and gas industry, especially investing in trans-national infrastructure like pipelines and refineries and the development of local content.

“In addition to reforming APPO, Kachikwu was also mandated to reform and recapitalise the Cotonou-based APPO Fund for Technical Development. In this connection, Kachikwu submitted far-reaching proposals to the Ministerial Council, which unanimously approved its implementation. Among the major changes approved by the Ministerial Council was a change in the name of APPO Fund to AEICORP, African Energy Investment Corporation.

“Unlike APPO whose shareholders were limited to sovereign governments, AEICORP shall be open to sovereigns as well as institutional and private investors. AEICORP targets one $1 billion in investment capital to fund energy infrastructure on the African continent.

“This recent re-election will see Kachikwu complete the ongoing reforms that will emplace APPO towards leaving a lasting legacy that will ensure that Africans benefit from the continent’s hydrocarbon resources.”

Speaking on his re-election, Kachikwu enthused the unalloyed support that he had received from the members of the Council while affirming his commitment to making deep and sustained reforms that will not only guide its members to make the best returns in its energy business but also firmly reposition APPO as a global force.

Kachikwu expressed his gratitude to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the host Minister, H.E. Gabriel Obiang Lima for the excellent hospitality shown to the delegation and commended the world-class project execution of the APPO CAPE VII Congress and Exhibition

The statement also disclosed that Nigeria has been appointed a member of the Joint Technical Committee, JTC, and Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, JMMC, of the Member Countries of the Declaration of Cooperation, DoC, to monitor compliance to agreements reached on crude oil supply cut.

According to the statement:  “This marks a historical moment for the organization as it is the first time that any member country is allowed to provide the president of the organization for two consecutive years. By this development, Nigeria has held the presidency of APPO for three out of the four years of President Buharis administration. The only gap was when Chad led the Organization in 2017.

Accepting the offer from the JMMC, Kachikwu assured the Committee of his continuous commitment and that of Nigeria to the processes that would lead to the stabilization of the oil market.

The appointment of Nigeria  was made by Ministers of the 24 Nation Declaration of Cooperation, DoC, comprising 14 OPEC and 10 Non-OPEC oil producing countries   and is subject to the ratification of the conference of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.

The JMMC comprises 2 non-OPEC countries, namely The Russian Federation and Kazakhstan and six OPEC countries, namely Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Venezuela.

SOURCE: vanguardngr.com