The Minister of Oil, Vincent de Paul Massassa, took part in the 39th session of the Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) in Niamey, Niger, on November 19.
The assizes of the Nigerien capital were preceded, on November 17, by the 6th ordinary meeting of the members of the Executive Council, which scrutinized the decisions taken during the 38th Council of Ministers of June 15. Among the decisions taken: the transfer of the headquarters of the APPO from Abuja in Nigeria to Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo; approval of the headquarters agreement; the postponement of the heads of state summit in 2021; the commission of a detailed study on the future of the oil and gas industry in Africa in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and COP21.

"Since the reform of the former APPA (African Petroleum Producers Association) began a few years ago, the challenges facing the oil and gas industry in Africa are virtually the same. Apart from the volatility of the oil markets, which affects all oil producers, in Africa we have particular challenges; from overdependence on oil export earnings, technology and foreign finance and, in some cases, even human resources", recalled Foumakoye Gado, Nigerien Minister Petroleum and Chairman of the APPO.

The APPO intends to strengthen the collaboration between the different oil companies of the member countries. But also with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to ensure the stability of the oil market.