Wilfred Edwin
10 July 2007
Nairobi — The Southern African Development Community is setting up a Regional Petroleum and Gas Association to promote trade in the respective products.
The project will also harmonise standards and regulations in the sector.
"Repga will create a common investment destination with harmonised environmental standards and policies," said the Commissioner for Energy and Petroleum Affairs in Tanzania's Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Bashir Mrindoko.
The project aims to make optimal use of regional capacities and reap the benefits of joint product procurement.
The association was mooted during the last meeting of the SADC Petroleum, Coal and Gas sub-committee, held in Gaborone in April 2002.
Other objectives of the project are to co-ordinate hydrocarbon exploration activities in the SADC region and to assist in establishing and implementing harmonisation of laws, rules, standards and regulations related to the petroleum and gas sector in the region.
The secretariat has already floated a tender for a consultancy service to review the existing data and information alongside its Directorate of Infrastructure and Services.
The consultant will also work with the departments of energy of the member states and other institutions relevant to the industry.
The secretariat said the consultant will be tasked to identify petroleum and gas issues that need harmonisation and draft appropriate specifications, rules, and standards.
The consultant will identify functions, tasks and structure of the regional petroleum and gas sector association and advise on the feasibility of having a composite regional energy regulator encompassing electricity, petroleum and gas.
The East African region is said to have a high oil and gas potential. This has seen players in the industry call for joint petroleum exploration ventures.
The secretariat of the East African Community hosted the third East African Petroleum Conference in Arusha, this March at which sector development in the sub-region was discussed.
The conference, titled "Together unveiling untapped oil and gas potential," brought together national oil companies and oil and service companies.
The partner states highlighted their respective exploration activities with the focus on petroleum potential, legal, and fiscal regimes and the current licensing status.
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