The African downstream oil industry comes to Cape Town March 13-17th for ARA WEEK at a critical time for the supply, refining, storage, distribution and marketing sectors of the energy supply chain.
The theme of ARA WEEK 2017 is Achieving Clean Fuels in Africa and, as pressure grows to improve the quality of gasoline and diesel for African markets and dramatic changes are planned for ships’ fuel oil specifications, the downstream oil industry comes together to discuss how these objectives can be met.
The Interim President of the ARA Ibrahim Talba Malla from Cameroon said that “The African downstream oil industry has now identified the challenges facing the African refining and distribution sectors both in terms of meeting the product quality and quantity demanded by our customers, and in terms of how the industry continues to contribute to economic growth. Our task is to now develop solutions to these challenges and to accept responsibility for achieving them. Failure is not an option or we will let down the ambitions of future generations.”
Mr. Talba Malla added “We are happy that so many African and International experts are coming to Cape Town to network and share experiences with entities active in the local petroleum sector as well as on the international markets. Together we can consider the challenges we face related to refining, importing, storage and distribution, and, of course, financing our projects and developing our personnel.”
The ARA’s AFRI specifications Road Map aims to achieve cleaner fuels to be supplied to African consumers by 2020 so as to help achieve the clean air objectives desired by all.
This deadline means that decisions have to be made now on how this will be achieved – whether by increased investment in African refineries or by an increasing reliance on imported products. The size of the investments is challenging, especially when put alongside the forthcoming changes in fuel oil quality for shipping. The conference will debate the challenges and opportunities for African refineries and address the key question: is the African refining industry ready to respond?
The ARA was formed eleven years ago in order to provide a pan-African voice for the African oil supply, refining and distribution industry. The ARA represents not only refinery members but also many product importers, storage companies, marketers and government regulators.
For further details see www.afrra.org or contact the ARA on [email protected]
