Council Represented At 7th Angola Oil & Gas Conference And Exhibition

Earlier this month, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) Regional Ethanol Consultant for Africa and the Middle East, Gbenga Apampa attended the 7th Angola Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition held in Luanda. The event drew more than 3,000 delegates from 40 countries under the theme of balancing aggressive upstream oil exploration with local capacity building and regional gas master plans.

"Angola has an ambitious bioenergy strategy, targeting commercial-scale domestic biofuel production by 2030, aiming to generate up to $50 billion in accumulated national revenue by 2050 while creating millions of vital rural jobs," Apampa said.

"A key roadblock is the gap between domestic processing capacity and market-wide fuel demand. While domestic agro-industrial infrastructure is expected to scale up over the coming years, ethanol imports may help provide initial stability while the industry builds itself up."

The two-day event opened with an overview of Angola's plans for biofuel integration and how local capacity and feedstock needs will be managed. Apampa met with key local and regional industry players on the sidelines of the conference, facilitated by
U.S.-Africa Prosperity Group CEO Maria Jiverage to introduce the Council's role in Angola's biofuels development, discuss the option of ethanol imports in covering potential initial supply shortfalls and the utility of a multi-stakeholder workshop to accelerate Angola's transition to an active obligatory biofuel mandate.

The second half of the conference focused on downstream logistics and infrastructure needed to support anticipated demand and identified national fuel specifications for proper certifications and consumer safety.

Apampa also engaged with stakeholders in the domestic biofuels value chain about planning for the Council's upcoming workshop, "Operationalizing The Bioethanol Blending Mandate In Angola," to be held in Luanda in April.

"The Council is uniquely positioned to act as a primary technical advisor and facilitator for Angola's biofuel transition. Leveraging decades of experience, the Council can play a pivotal role through technical capacity building, supply chain architecture and connecting public and private stakeholders for the mutual goal of boosting Angola's energy transition," said Ramy H. Taieb, USGBC regional director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Learn more about the Council's work in Africa on the organization's website.