Ugandans told to ready for oil industry

Nov 26, 2013

A top logistics official on the continent has said discoveries of oil and gas on the continent will spur local economies if African suppliers, service providers and other businesses wake up to oil industry.

By Billy Rwothungeyo

Ahead of the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town this week, a top logistics official on the continent has said discoveries of oil and gas on the continent will spur local economies if African suppliers, service providers and other businesses wake up to this growth.


Steve Harley, the DHL president of the Energy Sector, for Customer Solutions & Innovations said logistics players in countries where the resources are being discovered should start building their capacity.

According to Harley, forecasts expect African oil supply growth to continue over the next 25 years, with predicted ranges of growth over the period of between 0.5 million and 2.0 million barrels per day. “Africa will need to adapt in order to keep up with the demand, as well as evolving trends in this highly competitive sector.

He said that globally, the steady and reliable supply of energy is critical to economic activity, and due to Africa’s availability of the resource, it is expected that the continent will see continued and steady economic growth.

“We have also witnessed an increased demand for the resource on the continent, and currently Africa is the region with highest increase in oil consumption globally – 5% in 2012 versus only a 1% increase globally. This is likely to continue as many of the fastest growing economies are situated on the continent.”

Harley also called for an overhaul of infrastructure on the continent as most of the new developments are either very remote or technically challenging.

 “Forecasts predict that conventional oil production will decline by five percent per year. Extraction from unconventional sources is more complex and relatively more expensive from a supply chain perspective. As such, customers will need complementary expertise from integrated logistics suppliers to meet the challenges of these new geographies and technologies” he said.

 

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