LAGOS – Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has promised to reposition the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization(APPO) as a global force to be reckon with.

Kachikwu,who was last week re-elected as the President of the organization for two consecutive years,also affirmed his commitment to making deep and sustained reforms that will not only guide its members to make the best returns in its energy business.

The reelection of Dr. Kachikwu took place during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the APPO which held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea under the high patronage of H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

The ministerial session had in attendance, APPO Ministers drawn from thirteen member countries; namely, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Niger, and Nigeria.

Under Dr. Kachikwu’s Presidency of APPO in 2015-2016, the Organization embarked on a major reform aimed sharpening the focus of the Organization, enhancing professionalism and strengthening the capacity of the APPO secretariat to conduct studies that will enhance the productivity of the African oil and gas industry, especially investing in trans-national infrastructure like pipelines and refineries and the development of local content.

Besides reforming APPO, Dr. Kachikwu was also mandated to reform and recapitalize the Cotonou-based APPO Fund for Technical Development. In this connection, Dr. Kachikwu submitted far-reaching proposals to the Ministerial Council, which unanimously approved its implementation.

Among the major changes approved by the ministerial council was a change in the name of APPO Fund to AEICORP, African Energy Investment Corporation. Unlike APPO whose shareholders were limited to sovereign governments, AEICORP shall be open to sovereigns as well as institutional and private investors. AEICORP targets one US$1 billion in investment capital to fund energy infrastructure on the African continent. This recent reelection will see Dr. Kachikwu complete the ongoing reforms that will emplace APPO towards leaving a lasting legacy that will ensure that Africans benefit from the continent’s hydrocarbon resources.

Meanwhile,in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministers of the 24 Nation Declaration of Cooperation, DoC, comprising 14 OPEC and 10 Non-OPEC Oil Producing Countries, announced the appointment of Nigeria as a Member of the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Member Countries of the DoC.