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Once one of the world&#39;s biggest producers, Mexico has had a sweet and sour relationship with the upstream industry. In my experience working in the Mexican O&#038;G industry, I witnessed the transition of a nationalized industry, once described by Juan Pardinas, former director of the Mexican Institute on Competitiveness, as &#8220;hermetically sealed&#8221; and on par with that of North Korea [1],  to an industry allowing the participation of foreign investment. It has been quite an experience to witness such a rapid movement in an industry where nothing occurred (from a regulatory standpoint) for more than 70 years. After so many years of stagnancy, the 2013 Mexican Administration pushed for a quick reform and a faster implementation to catch up with the global industry and call upon international investors. In a relatively short period, these efforts resulted in the awarding and performance of 111 exploration and exploitation contracts. While the framework is not perfect, perhaps some of the experience could serve as an example for African countries struggling with implementing reforms or successfully structuring and launching licensing rounds. Countries like Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, Somalia, and Cameron, where the most recent licensing rounds have not yielded the expected results, according to Mr. NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, could maybe benefit from this experience. Considering how Mexico&#39;s upstream sector evolved to allow foreign investment, in this two-part article, I will be presenting certain experiences that might serve as an example in some African jurisdictions with cultural, regulatory, legislative, and even colonial similarities, where oil &#038; gas projects need to keep growing, not only to recover from Covid-19 but to serve as pillars of the economy.  Mexico&#39;s need to reform. The nationalization of subsoil resources by the revolutionaries that drafted the Mexican Constitution of 1917 marked the beginning of private investment restrictions in the oil &#038; gas industry. With such a move, Mexico had &#8220;recaptured oil but could not develop or market it without foreign capital [2]&#8221;, so foreign involvement in the country continued to be essential for several years. However, nationalistic sentiment, labor disputes, political unrest, among other matters, lead to judicial, political, and social turmoil, which eventually resulted in the 1938 privatization of an industry formerly dominated by foreign majors. Under the premise of &#8220;The Oil is Ours&#8221; sustained by then-President Cardenas, Mexican citizens of every class, donated money and valuables to the government, including jewelry and livestock, to pay off foreign owners&#39; debt [3]. With the privatization, the NOC Petroleos Mexicanos (&#8220;Pemex&#8221;) was incorporated as a vertically integrated company and granted exclusive rights over exploration, extraction, refining, and commercialization of oil &#038; gas. Since then, and up to the late 2000s, nothing had changed in Pemex&#39;s monopolistic grasp of the industry, except for allowing foreign participation through risk services agreements with private companies in 1949 [4], and a modification of Pemex&#39;s corporate structure spinning it off in four subsidiaries (each focused on a stage of the oil exploitation process) in 1992, being Pemex-Exploration and Production in charge of upstream.  Supported by the output of the super-giant Cantarell basin (discovered in 1976), by 2004, Pemex had become one of the world&#39;s biggest oil producers, with an output of 3.4 million bbl/d. Cantarell accounted for 63% of Mexico&#39;s total production, with peak production in 2004 of 2.1 million bbl/d [5]. In Mexico, Pemex had become a beacon for nationalistic principles throughout the years. Its success gave compelling arguments in support of a model of a government-led industry. At the time, a modification to the industry&#39;s legal framework or Pemex&#39;s monopoly came with a high political cost. However, with a steady, unstoppable decline, by 2014, Pemex was averaging around 2.5 million bbl/d, thus indicating that Pemex alone could not stop the fall. Pemex is now the most indebted NOC globally, standing at about $110 bn USD in debt and production averaging 1.6 million bbl/d [6]. Due to several reasons, including a tax regime standing at roughly 60%, Pemex has not turned a profit since 2006 [7]. The decline of production demanded reform to the industry.  The first attempt came in 2008 when President Calderon&#39;s Administration reformed specific laws creating the National Hydrocarbons Commission (&#8220;CNH&#8221;), a much-needed regulator in the industry, and giving Pemex greater budgetary authority and a different corporate structure [8]. Also, Pemex was allowed to tender and execute a form of long-term risk-services agreements with private companies, where Pemex would make payments to the contractors according to performance. Such services agreements known as Integrated Exploration and Production Contracts (&#8220;CIEPs&#8221;) included cost recovery of Capex and payment of a fee per barrel to contractors [9], contingent on Pemex&#39;s available cash flow, which resulted problematic. CIEPs were awarded in three different tenders, mainly to service companies, as the contractual-profit scheme did not draw operators. Finally, in 2013, under President Peña Nieto&#39;s Administration, a constitutional reform was approved by Congress, enabling international companies to participate in the O&#038;G sector through service contracts, profit, and production sharing agreements, and license contracts, thereby ending the nationalization of the industry (though not of the ownership of subsoil resources). The constitutional reform was swift, and it counted with the support of the major political parties in the country, following the &#8220;Pacto por Mexico&#8221; (Pact for Mexico), negotiated right after the election, and signed the day after Peña Nieto was sworn into office. The Pacto por Mexico set the administration&#39;s immediate strategic goals for every primary sector of the economy. While currently being accused of corruption, the Pacto por Mexico serves as an excellent example of working together with the political players to get things done, especially in industries as controversial as oil and gas.  The following year, President Peña Nieto signed into law secondary legislation to the Constitutional Reform, incorporating a new regulatory regime for the energy industry. The reform would become the first (and hopefully not the last) attempt of Mexico to involve private companies in the development and modernization of the sector after more than 70 years of a nationalized industry.  Involvement of foreign investment was made in a multi-stage process, beginning by allocating to the NOC most of the country&#39;s oil reserves, followed by the launching of rapid, attractive, and successful bidding rounds. However, the manner in which such implementation was made will be delivered in part two of this article.  Takeaways 1. Mexico reformed the framework, incorporated regulators, and adopted international standards in a relatively short period. This strategy was procured carefully by the different governmental bodies and diligently planned at a political level, and it was well-received by investors who showed much interest in participating in the new market.  African countries looking to exploit their resources should act even more rapidly and diligently to draw international companies&#39; appetite, especially in the post-Covid-19 recovery road. Having a planned strategy for rapid reform is an effective way to attract new capital. Companies do not want to wait for years for opportunities to open. Investors would lose interest and would probably move to other markets that moved swiftly. Such reforms must not only be aligned with political or private interests, but they must connect to the public, who must be able to feel the benefits that the reforms will bring, and not only see it as a political campaign or a ruse by politicians to give money – or even worst, oil reserves &#8211; to foreign investors.  One of the most compelling &#8220;counter-reform&#8221; arguments of the current Administration in Mexico is that the energy reform did not reach its expected results. It is convincing, as Peña Nieto&#39;s Administration might have oversold the short-term benefits of the reform by promising lower electricity and natural gas tariffs, creating several million jobs, and increasing the oil rent, among others, most of which were not met. In fact, since the enactment of the reform, oil output has decreased from 2.5 to 1.6 million bbl/d, making the current government&#39;s argument quite convincing for society at large.  This cannot be allowed to happen while pushing for reform in African countries. Countries should consider implementing adequate communication channels with the public about the industry&#39;s benefits to avoid an issue similar to Mexico&#39;s. Having a fluid connection and communication between the people, the regulators, and the companies is vital. Oil &#038; gas projects&#39; benefits must not be delivered only in an official address but instead, be fully comprehended and felt. Society must know where the money committed for investment is going, how it replicates in employment and the lowering of gasoline, gas, and electric tariffs, how are profits being spent (or saved), and in particular, the certainty that the money is not just going to the elites or the foreign companies. 2. Prioritizing transparency in the licensing rounds, the resulting contracts&#39; performance, and the allocation of the revenue from the extracted resources, and adopting anti-bribery laws and regulations are primordial to create an optimal investing environment. Especially in countries like Mexico, where inequality, poverty, social difficulties, political turmoil, and corruption scandals are an everyday thing, these matters are of the utmost importance to keep a strong upstream sector. African countries should strive to connect with the public and avoid passing and implementing &#8220;secret&#8221; projects or under-the-table deals. The push for transparency needs to be grand. African countries should aim to join and comply in full with the EITI or a similar mechanism to push for transparency, which will also help build a hospitable environment for foreign investors. Efficient communication of the results of licensing rounds, the status of the executed contracts, and benefits resulting therefrom is necessary. This connection to society will also give investors certainty, as a change in public policy would be harder to achieve by incoming administrations if the voters are content with the industry&#39;s status. Laws as the Foreign Corruption Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, which can be enforced extraterritorially, are great instruments to reduce corruption; however, African countries should also implement local anticorruption regulations in line with international standards to attract foreign investment. Not even the perception of corruption should be welcomed in Africa, as this would (like in Mexico) take the industry several steps back. It is an excellent opportunity for some African countries to implement or improve anticorruption systems in the industry, to serve as examples to other sectors of the economies.  With a team of energy experts and wealth of experience garnered in advising multi-nationals on over 25 upstream oil and gas investments and over 30 big-ticket midstream investments in 15 countries across Africa, Centurion Law Group is the industry leader on the African continent. We take pride in effortlessly directing and guiding our clients through the vast regulatory uncertainties on the African continent. Andres Vega, International Associate. References: 1. Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, Mexico&#39;s New Energy Reform., pp. 26 &#8211; &#8220;Monetizing Mexico&#39;s Oil: An Interview with Juan Pardinas, IMCO&#8221; (podcast), Institute of the Americas, November 21st, 2013 2. Yergin, Daniel, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, &#038; Power. New York: Free Press, 2009.pp. 215 3. Hughes, William E., Fundamentals of International Oil &#038; Gas Law, PennWell Corporation, 2016, pp. 76 4. Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, Mexico&#39;s New Energy Reform., pp. 81 5. Deloitte Analysis, Exploration and Production snapshots: Mexico &#8211; https://bit.ly/3qw97JM 6. Estadísticas Petroleras, Petróleos Mexicanos, https://bit.ly/3at2zWV 7. Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, Mexico&#39;s New Energy Reform., pp. 22 8. World Politics Review, Rodrigo Camarena, Mexico&#39;s Energy Reform and the Future of Pemex, https://bit.ly/3s3hI76 9. King &#038; Spalding, Vera De Brito de Gyarfas, Marco Portillo Diaz, Integrated Exploration and Extraction Services Contracts vs. Exploration and Production Contracts &#8211; Mexico 2020 (or back to 2009?), October 15th, 2019 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Centurion Law Group.For more information, please contact us at info@centurionlg.com. Media filesDownload logo

Lessons from Mexico: Pushing for better and faster O&G project implementation in Africa (By Andres Vega)

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Download logoThe United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS in the Ministry of Health today welcome a timely contribution of EUR 550,000 (about 515 million Malawi Kwacha) from the Government of Ireland to support interventions that prevent malnutrition in Malawi. “Four of every 10 children are affected by chronic malnutrition,” said Benoit Thiry, WFP Country Representative in Malawi. “Ireland’s contribution will propel efforts to improve the quality of nutrition services for vulnerable children and women. “ The contribution will be used to promote access to quality nutrition and health services targeting 30,000 malnourished children, adolescents, and women in Neno District focussing on maternal, infant and child nutrition to reduce stunting and micronutrient deficiencies. The contribution comes at a time when the country is impacted by COVID-19 which is threatening the efforts to improve nutrition and health in the country. In addition, the contribution will be used to provide technical support to the Government of Malawi in establishing a National Nutrition Centre of Excellence. The Centre will be a national hub for evidence generation, knowledge sharing and information management for nutrition innovation. “Nutrition is vitally important throughout a person’s life,” said Seamus O’ Grady, Ambassador, Embassy of Ireland in Malawi. “The Government of Ireland is pleased to renew its commitment to support Malawi’s effort towards ending malnutrition especially at the subnational level (Neno District) and by reaching those further behind who in this case comprise of women and young girls.” The Government of Ireland is one of the largest donors to WFP’s nutrition programme in Malawi. WFP is working with the Government of Malawi, development partners and communities to improve nutrition for vulnerable people through the implementation of the National Multisector Nutrition Policy.   Good nutrition is critical to achieving full physical growth of children. In Malawi, malnutrition remains a serious challenge and contributes to preventable child deaths. 37% of children in Malawi are affected by stunting (being too short for one’s age) while only 8% of children aged 6-23 months meet the minimum acceptable diet. Stunted children are more likely to drop out of school and repeatedly experience lower productivity later in life. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

World Food Programme partners with Ireland to fight malnutrition in Malawi

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Download logoUN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ján Kubiš arrived yesterday in Tripoli, in his first visit to Libya after his appointment, to meet with Libyan officials and stakeholders in different parts of the country. Special Envoy Kubiš, accompanied by Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and UNSMIL Coordinator Raisedon Zenenga and ASG/Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya Georgette Gagnon, met today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mohamed Siyala, Deputy President of the Presidency Council (PC) Ahmed Mitig and PC member Abdulsalam Kajman, who congratulated him on his appointment and offered full support to the Special Envoy in his mission as well as to the work of the United Nations. They discussed a wide range of issues, including national and international dynamics in light of the successful outcome of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) meeting in Switzerland, which resulted in the selection of a new unified interim executive authority, and the importance of moving forward with the full implementation of the Roadmap, including a smooth transition of power. Mr. Kubiš expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and reiterated the UN full support to the Libyan people in their pursuit of peace, stability, prosperity and unity, especially through the holding of national elections on 24 December 2021. He reasserted the UN continuous support on humanitarian and developments fronts, especially in light of the challenges facing the Libyan people due to the threat of COVID-19 pandemic. Special Envoy Kubiš, along with ASG/UNSMIL Coordinator Zenenga and ASG/HC/RC Gagnon, also met with the Minister of Interior, Mr. Fathi Bashagha and commended him for his active engagement in and support for the LPDF. They discussed the political and security situation in Libya and stressed the need to move forward with the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement through the work of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission, as well as of the LPDF Roadmap leading to the elections. Special Envoy Ján Kubiš continued with his international contacts. On Monday he was received in Tunisia by H.E. President of the Republic of Tunisia Kais Said and held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Othman al-Jerandi. These days he also had telephone calls with Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Algeria Sabri Boukadoum and of Italy Luigi Di Maio.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Special Envoy Ján Kubiš Pays His First Visit to Libya, Meets Libyan Officials in Tripoli

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New Cases: 2 Total Confirmed: 3,825 Deaths: 79 Recovered: 2,583 Total in quarantine: 251 Discharged from quarantine: 14,117Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information and Communication, Sierra Leone.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Sierra Leone: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock is today announcing an initial rapid allocation of US$15 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in response to the concerning Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This is the first time Ebola has been recorded in Guinea since the last outbreak ended in 2016. The outbreak in the DRC is in the same area as the 10th Ebola epidemic that claimed more than 2,200 lives from August 2018 to June 2020. “Breaking the chain of transmission is the priority so I’m releasing rapid funding for community engagement, infection prevention and control, and vaccination” said Mr. Lowcock. The funding will help DRC and Guinea respond to the outbreak and support neighbouring countries to prepare. Detailed allocation decisions will be made in the next few days as we receive more details about specific requirements, needs and risks. In Guinea to date, 10 suspected cases have been recorded. In DRC, there are four confirmed cases, including two deaths.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).Media filesDownload logo

UN Emergency Fund allocates $15M for Ebola response in DRC, Guinea

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Pikie Monaheng, CEO at Amdocs (www.Amdocs.com) South Africa. It’s no secret that CSPs need to transform their businesses to compete in the continent’s highly competitive communications landscape and deliver the experiences that customers are demanding today. However, digital transformation is a journey, which takes time. And there are many tasks to undertake on the way. So, how do CSPs go about achieving true digital transformation? What are the main challenges they must address? IT modernisation is a key enabler of any digital transformation and adoption of cloud technologies is central to that. In addition to cost savings, the cloud provides the ability to swiftly evolve, react to market dynamics and launch new offerings. It enables elasticity on demand, creating an always-on environment where the flexibility to do things as a service is much greater and the organisation is not confined to own-premise computing power and IT. CSPs will necessarily adopt a hybrid approach to cloud adoption with some systems remaining on-premise and others migrating to private cloud, public cloud and even multiple public clouds (like AWS, Azure and GCP) to benefit from the latest technologies and cost efficiencies. This complex IT environment creates challenges around managing the hybrid co-existence of the current and the new platforms, which requires careful management.  Moreover, adoption of cloud brings new concerns such as the need for continuous optimisation, financial and economic management, regulatory compliance and data and security management. Data is key for anticipating customer needs. Savvy CSPs will need to start leveraging data more effectively to make more astute business decisions. Here, AI plays a key role, helping CSPs to quickly create new offerings based on what customers are demanding. Injecting artificial intelligence into everything the organisation does will help it make critical business decisions, but also keep pace with an ever-changing, connectivity-first society. CSPs will also need to inject intelligence into their own operations. To remain ahead of technology’s rapid evolution, organisations will be compelled to introduce AI-driven operations, while making continuous improvements to their IT environments. This is the only way to ensure flexibility and a fleet-footed response to change. Ultimately, the success of any digital transformation depends on the people and the processes that execute the transformation. This requires getting employees to buy into digital adoption, embrace new technologies, new processes and new ways of working. CSPs need to adapt their organisational culture to break down barriers and automate and expedite processes. They must instil a continuous learning and innovation mindset in their employees. Steps such as these will allow CSPs to be more agile and ensure their employees have the inherent ability to quickly adapt to the next big disruption. With the focus on reskilling and repurposing, as well as the automation of manual tasks, employees will no longer have to do repetitive or onerous tasks. Rather, they will be freed up to concentrate more on business innovation and customer service. One successful digital transformation story is that of a South East Asian media conglomerate, which recently underwent a digital transformation programme and migrated its business support systems (BSS) to cloud. The aim was to improve the user experience and increase self-service adoption, personalise recommendations and improve usability. In 14 months – and negotiating Covid-19 challenges – the transformation journey resulted in upfront operational and capital expenditure savings, as well as 10% cost optimisation. In addition, the business was able to decommission data centres and enable updates to individual apps without impacting its overall digital architecture. In another instance, Philippines-based telecommunications company, Globe, modernised a fragmented and inefficient call centre to deliver an enhanced digital experience for customers. To deliver better customer interactions and reduce waiting time, increase call resolution rates and enrich their customers’ digital lifestyles, the company’s legacy system was migrated to the cloud (Amazon Connect) and an Amdocs solution was adopted to convert 31 screens to a single, unified agent desktop. This led to a 40% reduction in operating expenditure (OPEX) and overall improvement in net promoter score (NPS). Monaheng says digital transformation journeys may come with some challenges, but the rewards are worth the effort. “CSPs that have already embarked on accelerated journeys to transform their businesses are positioning themselves to deliver digital customer services that leverage new opportunities and technologies, and elevate their customers’ satisfaction and happiness rates. And frankly, the operations that don’t ride the transformation wave will be left behind.” Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amdocs.For more information and/or interview opportunities please contact: Eclipse Communications Lethabo Kgolane PR Account Manager &#8211; Corporate 071 077 6751 Lethabo@Eclipsecomms.Com Media filesDownload logo

Communications Service Providers Must Transform Themselves to Meet Customers’ Ever-Changing Needs (By Pikie Monaheng)

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As of 16 February 2021, two Africa Union Member States are reporting 21 cases, 7 deaths and 0 recoveries of Ebola virus disease: DR Congo by province: North Kivu (4 cases; 2 deaths) Guinea by region: Conakry (1; 0), N’Zerekore (16; 5)Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).Media filesDownload logo

Africa Union Member States reporting Ebola Virus Disease Update (16 February 2021)

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Tests conducted: 8,737,330 Positive cases identified: 1,494,119 Total recoveries: 1,396,951 Total deaths: 48,313 New cases: 1,210Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa, Department of Health.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – South Africa: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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174 people have tested positive to the disease, out of a sample size of 2,848 tested in the last 24 hours. The total confirmed positive cases are now 103,188. The cumulative tests so far conducted are 1,246,279. Nairobi has 124 cases, Nakuru 10, Mombasa 9, Kiambu 7, Kilifi 4, Uasin Gishu 4, Murang’a 3, Machakos 3, Embu 2, Kajiado 2, Kirinyaga 1, Makueni 1, Migori 1, Taita Taveta 1, Elgeyo Marakwet 1 and Wajir 1. 86 patients have recovered from the disease. 65 from the Home-Based Isolation and Care while 21 are from various health facilities. Total recoveries now stand at 85,336. Sadly, 2 patients have lost their battle to the disease pushing our cumulative fatalities to 1,797. Our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their loved ones. 258 patients are admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 1,190 patients are on Home Based Isolation and Care. 37 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit, 15 of whom are on ventilatory support and 17 on supplemental oxygen. 5 patients are on observation Another 11 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen with all of them in the general wards.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Kenya: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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New cases: 242 Total active cases: 13,440 Total currently admitted: 146 (18 new) Total number of tests conducted: 173,480 (1,364 new) Total confirmed cases: 29,421* Total recovered: 14,803 (608 new) New discharges from treatment units: 12 Total deaths: 968 (10 new) *Out of these, 134 lost to follow-up and 76 outcome under investigation.Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health and Population, Republic of Malawi.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Malawi: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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Daily: Laboratory test: 5,164 Severe cases: 308 New recovered: 199 New deaths: 14 New cases: 665 Total: Laboratory test: 2,057,017 Active cases: 17,120 Total recovered: 129,145 Total deaths: 2,223 Total cases: 148,490 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Ethiopia.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Ethiopia: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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Active cases: 419 New cases: 55 New tests: 652 Total confirmed: 4,469 Recovered: 3,912 (+11) Deaths: 138 (+0)Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, The Gambia.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Gambia: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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Download logoMinister of Health Lizzie Nkosi&#39;s COVID-19 update on 16 February 2021: New cases: 30 Total cases: 16,606 Active cases: 3,559 New recoveries: 76 Total recoveries: 12,383Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Coronavirus – Eswatini: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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Total cases: 17,594 (+110) Recovered: 15,475 (+350) Active cases: 1,879 In critical condition: 12 Tests: 955,383 (+4,814) Test positivity rate: 2.3% Recovery rate: 87.9% Deaths: 240 (+1) | 1.3%Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Republic of Rwanda.Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Rwanda: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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As of 16th February 2021, in the last 24 hrs, we recorded 575 new cases (out of 5,249 tests), 347 recoveries and 15 deaths [MTSRIP].Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI).Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Zambia: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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1,572 new cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria; Lagos-204 Anambra-344 Oyo-172 FCT-148 Benue-107 Rivers-95 Ogun-59 Ondo-56 Ebonyi-53 Kaduna-52 Plateau-46 Kwara-36 Enugu-30 Akwa Ibom-26 Osun-22 Edo-20 Abia-17 Kano-16 Borno-15 Cross River-10 Delta-8 Gombe-8Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).Media filesDownload logo

Coronavirus – Nigeria: COVID-19 update (16 February 2021)

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By Grace Goodrich Mozambique defied global investment flows by reporting a rise in deal activity in 2020. Now, the country seeks to engage local service providers to supply goods and services to gas megaprojects to drive in-country value generation and retention. While overall transactions dropped by eight percent in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020, in Mozambique, the number of transactions rose, with 12 deals reported compared to only four deals in 2019, according to a Baker McKenzie analysis (http://bit.ly/3b8L2Cq). Despite ongoing market uncertainty due to COVID-19, for Mozambique, this comes as little surprise: in recent years, the country has emerged as a regional hub for energy investment and development on the continent, as foreign investors spearhead gas megaprojects and local service providers seek to access large-scale contracts.  Energy multinationals including Total, Mitsui, ONGC, PTTEP, Eni and ExxonMobil have already invested more than $20 billion in the country. Last August, 68 new U.S. companies signed engineering, procurement and construction contracts to supply equipment and services to the landmark Mozambique LNG gas-processing facility, with individual contracts reaching $1.8 billion. Moreover, Saipem and Subsea 7 inked a major contract for subsea work on the offshore Mamba Area 4 project, which is on track to feed gas from the field into the Rovuma liquefaction trains, with a final investment decision expected later this year. In 2021, deal activity in Mozambique and on the continent is expected to increase, as the sector continues to recover from COVID-19 and foreign direct investment begins to flow. The influx of capital into Mozambique is also supported by the country’s relatively attractive contractual terms, characterized by a public bidding process, limited government involvement and preference granted to local entities. Looking ahead, the key to unlocking the full scope of Mozambique’s energy development lies within strengthening its engagement with local service providers, in turn driving down costs associated with the procurement of goods and services for international oil companies, while ensuring local value generation for Mozambican firms. Concession Contracts Hydrocarbon activity in Mozambique is governed by the Petroleum Act, which serves to promote competitiveness and transparency within the sector, while protecting national interests and driving state participation through Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH). Concession contracts are established for appraisal, exploration and production activities; construction and operation of pipelines; and construction and operation of infrastructure. Appraisal contracts are non-renewable and carry a maximum period of two-years, providing for drilling of up to 100 meters below the surface or seabed. Meanwhile, exploration and production contracts grant exclusive exploration rights for eight years.   Mozambique adheres to a system of public tender, with only certain exclusions made for direct negotiation. Bid applications are submitted to the National Petroleum Institution (NPI) and addressed to the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, which is tasked with approving appraisal contracts. Meanwhile, the Mozambican Government is responsible for granting the award of exploration and production contracts. While any Mozambican or foreign entity with sufficient technical expertise and financial capacity is allowed to operate an asset, Mozambican entities are given preference when it comes to the allocation of exploration or production blocks. Service Contracts The principle of public tender also applies to the provision of goods and services in the petroleum sector, with public bidding specifically required for goods and services worth MZN 40 million (approximately $500,000), under the Petroleum Operations Regulation. The NPI directly oversees the award of service contracts, whose evaluation is contingent on price, service quality, delivery time and other key variables. For Mozambican companies, service contracts represent a valuable opportunity to tap into gas megaprojects on a more manageable scale, and current regulations seek to account for this. For example, foreign entities providing goods or services to petroleum operations must do so in partnership with national entities. Additionally, priority is given to the contracting of local goods and service providers over foreign providers, unless the difference in price is more than 10%. While Mozambique continues to refine its definition of local content, local goods and services currently refer to those that are predominantly produced or executed in-country. In order to drive deal-making in a post-COVID-19 context, Mozambique will need to target the participation of local companies within the energy value chain, ensuring that small-scale service providers can access large-scale contracts and know how to do business with international oil companies and other foreign entities. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Oil &#038; Power Conference.Africa Oil &#038; Power (AfricaOilAndPower.com) is working with the Mozambican government to promote investment in energy and diverse sectors, including agriculture, industry, tourism, construction and logistics in 2021. On March 8-9, AOP will host a Presidential Award ceremony (invite only) and Workshops Day in Maputo, preceding the Mozambique Gas &#038; Power 2021 conference and exhibition. If your organization would like to host a workshop, please email sales@africaoilandpower.com. To register to attend, please visit: http://bit.ly/3dlIi7t Media filesDownload logo

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