The exploration industry has been the hardest it by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent historic crash in oil prices. Most seismic acquisition and exploratory drilling programmes have been suspended or altogether cancelled as a result of worsening market conditions. While the industry has started its slow recovery, the impact of the 2020 crisis on exploration activities in Africa will be felt even harder in the longer term. In order to advise public and private stakeholders a road to recovery for the exploration industry, the African Energy Chamber is delighted to appoint a dedicated Advisory Committee consisting of:
Folarin Lajumoke, Vice President – Africa, ION
Mark Romanchock, Principal Geologist, Samara Geosciences, LLC
H. Daniel Hogan, General Manager – Lukoil International Upstream West
Robert Erlich, Partner and Executive Director – Upstream, Cayo Energy LP
Peter Ntephe, President & CEO, ERHC Energy
Acting in their personal capacity, the Exploration Committee members gather decades of experience working in the exploration industry, and understand the importance of keeping seismic programmes and exploratory drilling going to preserve the future of the industry.
Together with its new Exploration Committee, the African Energy Chamber will be working on a roadmap to exploration recovery. As energy markets become increasingly competitive and new frontiers emerge every year, the need for African jurisdictions to stay competitive and attract capital and technology in the continent’s acreages is more important than ever.
“Africa remains one of the most under-explored region on the planet, yet one where betting on exploration has proven a huge success. Recent discoveries in Senegal or Mozambique have showed what rewards explorers get by betting on Africa. We need to work on a stronger dialogue to make our sedimentary basins competitive and attractive for explorers, and bring back Africa’s rigs count up,” declared Nj Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber.
