Niger to host 3rd edition of ECOWAS Mining, Petroleum Forum

A statement by the ECOWAS Commission on its website said that during this three-day event, important topics of major interest to the mining and petroleum sub-sectors in West Africa and the rest of the world would be discussed by experts and officials from ECOWAS Member States, professionals from the mining and petroleum industries and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises from the region.

It added that issues of investment in the extractive industries, compliance and environmental management, local content policies and science and innovation strategies are on the agenda of ECOMOF 2022.

The participants, according to the statement, will also address issues such as the processing of extractive products, gender mainstreaming for inclusive governance of the extractive sector, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, review of the geological potential of some member states, etc.

It should be recalled that in 2012, the ECOWAS Ministers in charge of mining and petroleum resource development recommended the holding of a Regional Mining and Petroleum Forum every two years in one of the Member States of the West African Organisation on a rotating basis. This recommendation was endorsed by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government through Supplementary Act A/SP.16/02/12 on the Regional Mineral Development Policy.

ECOMOF aims to develop the mining and petroleum potentials of the Community, ensure the socio-economic integration of the West African region, develop artisanal and small-scale mining, and organise geological, mining and oil databases for ECOWAS Member States.

It is also an ideal regional platform for exchanges and meetings with ECOWAS Member States’ ministers in charge of the development of the mining and petroleum sectors, their respective national experts, as well as all key stakeholders in the geo-extractive industry.

“Finally, the Forum aims to provide a framework for collaboration and dialogue to support efforts that aim to put in place a harmonised, organised and optimally developed geo-extractive sector architecture in order to enable it to fully assume its role as an engine of development in the region,” the statement said.

The Republic of Ghana hosted the first Forum in 2015, followed by the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, which hosted the second edition in 2018. The 2022 edition, which is the third, is being held in the Republic of Niger, whose subsoil is rich in mineral deposits and known worldwide for its uranium production. Niger is also an oil-producing country, a sector that is expanding rapidly with the construction of nearly 2000km-long pipeline from the Agadem basin in Niger to the Semé Port in Benin.

It should be noted that West Africa is largely a relatively stable and democratic economic centre with great opportunities in the geo-extractive sector to support its development process, and that the member states have a favourable geology that remains under-explored.

Recent discoveries of deep-sea oil and gas in the region highlight the potentials for continued and increased petroleum research.