Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Ghana’s Energy Minister, participated in a roundtable discussion at the Julia Ideson Library in Houston for the ceremonial opening of the first Houston Africa Energy Summit with Heads of State, other Ministers, and Senior Executives of international oil and gas firms.
Discussions were led by Mayor Sylvester Turner and focused on the exploration and growth of the hydrocarbon industry in Africa, the difficulties that African nations face in attracting funding and investment, and what African nations can do to entice major oil and gas companies to operate there for the benefit of both parties.
The meeting also looked at renewable power generation and various innovations including carbon capture and storage, all within the overarching context of the current energy transition.
During discussions on decarbonization, the minister remarked that Africans are yet to enjoy the benefits of their oil and gas resources, therefore as leaders, they are going to mindfully engage in cleaner ways of exploiting the hydrocarbons, with assistance from carbon capture technologies.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh also told the gathering that, the energy transition conversation presents enormous opportunities to investors within Africa’s energy value chain especially as we aim to embark on a rigorous gas monetization drive.
He narrowed this to Ghana’s current quest to see investors come and invest in E&P acreages and farm-in opportunities as well as the numerous opportunities in our power sector.
As African energy decision makers, the minister was hopeful that we shall all, in the interest of our respective citizens, derive maximum economic benefits from our God-given resources.