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Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP) has joined the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference – taking place November 4-8 in Cape Town – as a Diamond Sponsor, underscoring its commitment to taking Norwegian skills and technology global. During the event, the organization is expected to promote opportunities for Norwegian companies across Africa as the continent targets near-term oil and gas development. 

With a more than 50-year production history, Norway exports nearly all of its oil and gas resources. The country currently accounts for 2% of global crude supply and 3% of global gas supply, with gas exports accounting for 30% of EU consumption in 2023. About 95% of the country’s gas is transported to neighboring European countries via an extensive network of subsea pipelines, and all of Norway’s oil and gas is produced offshore. This extensive experience in offshore exploration and production, as well as infrastructure development, makes Norway a strong partner for emerging oil and gas producers in Africa.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit https://aecweek.com for more information about this exciting event.

As an oil and gas association, NORWEP supports project developments in both the Norwegian and international market. In Africa, the association seeks to leverage the skills and expertise of Norwegian companies to accelerate the pace and success of projects, particularly across burgeoning energy markets. Notably, the association is supporting the town of Lüderitz in Namibia as it prepares the requisite infrastructure to support upcoming offshore oil and gas development. With a string of high-profile discoveries made in the Orange Basin in the past two years, Namibia is on track to become a hydrocarbon producer by 2029. NORWEP is working with the Ministry of Mines and Energy to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to facilitate the production, distribution and export of oil and gas resources.

Beyond this, the association facilitates collaboration among Norwegian and international companies. With a vision to support and assist in the internationalization of the Norwegian energy industry, NORWEP connects Norwegian companies with projects abroad, building on existing partnerships between Norwegian-based firms and African countries. Norwegian companies already have a strong footprint across the continent – particularly in the upstream market. Equinor, for example, focuses on exploration and production across various African markets, including Algeria, Angola, Libya, Nigeria and Tanzania. The Angolan continental shelf represents one of the largest contributors to the company’s oil production outside of Norway. 

Additionally, energy data and intelligence company TGS offers innovative data solutions across Africa’s upstream oil and gas market. Active across various countries, the company supports investments in exploration through its rich library of 2D and 3D data. TGS offers over 50,000-line km of multi-client 2D seismic data offshore and over 97,500 km of regional 2D data across the Orange Basin in Namibia. The firm has also conducted seismic surveys in the Orange, Outeniqua and Durban basins in South Africa; the Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Bissau-Conakry basin in Mauritania; the Awele South Basin in Nigeria; and offshore surveys in Angola, The Gambia and many more countries.

In the services sector, Norwegian companies such as Aker Solutions, DOF Subsea and Ocean Installer have supported African projects through engineering, design and production contracts. As the number of oil and gas projects in Africa grows, the demand for innovative technology and modernized oilfield services is expected to increase. At AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, NORWEP is expected to advocate for the role Norwegian firms play across the continent. 

“Norway represents a strong partner for Africa, and Norwegian companies stand to play an instrumental part in driving oil and gas projects across the continent. With its expertise in offshore drilling, the country can support upcoming upstream campaigns in Africa, particularly those in new markets such as Namibia. NORWEP plays an important part in connecting Norwegian companies to African opportunities,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024 serves as a strategic platform for NORWEP to promote further collaboration between Norwegian and African firms. Uniting the entire African energy sector and its value chain in Cape Town, the event fosters engagement, facilitates deal-signings and advances investment and development across Africa’s energy industry.