10th East African Petroleum Exhibition to attract over 1,000 participants

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Xinhua | The 10th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (EAPCE) is expected to attract more than 1,000 participants from across the world, the East African Community (EAC) said in a statement Friday.

The EAC statement issued by its headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha said the EAPCE will be held from May 9-11, 2023, in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

The EAPCE biennial conference will be held under the theme: East Africa as a hub for Investment in Exploration and Exploitation of Petroleum Resources for Sustainable Energy and Socioeconomic Development, aiming at promoting the region’s petroleum potential and investment opportunities.

“The last nine petroleum conferences have proven a valuable forum for governments and petroleum industry players from around the world to dialogue,” said the statement.

Peter Mathuki, the EAC secretary general, said the conference provides a forum for dialogue for all players in the petroleum industry regionally and internationally.

Mathuki said the 2023 edition of the conference is also in line with the EAC’s broad goal to achieve economic, social and political integration so as to create wealth in the region and enhance competitiveness through increased production, trade and investment in the oil and gas sector.

The EAPCE, first held in 2003, has provided increased awareness of the potential for petroleum products in the region and other important issues in the petroleum sector, including technological advancements in exploration, development and production, said the statement.

The EAPCE will take place at a time when the EAC has embarked on a journey to implement its Vision 2050 aimed at ensuring a sustainable, adequate, affordable, competitive, secure and reliable supply of energy to meet regional needs at the least cost, said the statement. It added that by 2050, the region’s target is to transform the energy landscape to be characterized by an efficient distribution of petroleum products with sufficient strategic reserves.