Equatorial Guinea Minister and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Gas Exporting Countries Forum, President Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima to Push Energy Financing in London

Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea and the President of both the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 2023, will be attending and participating at the Invest in African Energy event on 26 January in London at the Waldorf Hilton.

Organized by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) the voice of the African energy sector – in partnership with multinational energy market research firm, Rystad Energy, and leading pan-African financial services provider, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Invest in African Energy event will unite African energy policy makers with global partners and European financiers to discuss investment opportunities across Africa’s entire energy value chain.

Representing one of Africa’s top hydrocarbon producing countries, the GECF and OPEC, the presence of Minister Obiang Lima at the Invest in African Energy event will be crucial for shaping dialogue around optimizing investments across Africa’s oil and gas markets to improve global energy security and address the continent’s looming energy crisis, which is largely a result of under-exploitation of resources.

“London, for many years, has been a significant funding supplier for oil and gas in Africa. When we wanted to get money to drill, we went to London. Now I believe there will be a new opportunity for the funding sector in the UK to take the opportunity to invest in Africa. This does not only include oil but gas, and the UK is one of the main consumers of gas. To secure that resource, you need to provide the money for it,” stated Minister Obiang Lima during an AEC-hosted roundtable interview this month.

With over 600 million people across the African continent living in energy poverty and over 900 million without access to clean cooking, increasing investments to maximize oil and gas exploration, production and infrastructure development remains crucial for driving the continent’s electrification and socioeconomic development.

With European interest in African hydrocarbon resources growing, largely due to diversification by the bloc away from Russian oil and gas, GECF and OPEC member countries from across the African continent are well positioned to scale-up Europe’s energy resilience and decarbonization agenda while advancing their own economic expansion and energy monetization strategies. In this regard, the Invest in African Energy event represents the ideal platform where Africa-Europe energy relations can be strengthened and new investment deals signed.

“The Chamber is proud to be hosting Minister Obiang Lima at the Invest in African Energy event in London,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC, adding that, “The event signals new opportunities for Europe to connect with Equatorial Guinea as well as other GECF and OPEC member countries from across Africa who are looking at maximizing their energy resources while boosting trade with Europe on a win-for-all basis.”  Concluded Ayuk.