Company says regulatory certainty, competitive terms and host-community engagement are critical to attracting long-term investment
Africa’s ambition to expand oil and gas production and attract fresh investment will depend largely on stronger cooperation between governments, regulators, energy companies and host communities, Oando Energy Resources has said.
The upstream subsidiary of Oando PLC made the call during a panel discussion at AOW: Energy in Accra, Ghana, where industry and government representatives examined the challenges limiting the development of Africa’s upstream sector.
Speaking during the session, Kofo Olagunju, General Manager, Security, Government & External Relations at Oando Energy Resources, said closer alignment between the public and private sectors was necessary to create the certainty investors require before committing capital to long-term energy projects.
The panel, titled “Building Dialogue, Leadership: Exploring the Challenges of Both Government and Private Sector Frameworks for Upstream Development,” brought together senior representatives from across Africa’s petroleum industry.
Participants included Cany Jobe, Director General of the Petroleum Commission, The Gambia; IK Innocent Kihika, Board Member of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda; Joe Kofi Mensah, Senior Vice President and Head of Ghana Business Unit at Kosmos Energy; and Liz Ross, General Manager, New Ventures Exploration & M&A, Africa & Europe, at CNOOC International.
The discussion focused on the need for African governments and private-sector operators to bridge gaps between policy objectives, regulatory requirements and commercial realities in order to accelerate upstream development.
Oando Calls for Partnership Over Oversight
Olagunju said the relationship between regulators and operators should evolve beyond a conventional system in which regulators primarily exercise oversight over industry players.
Instead, he advocated a more collaborative approach in which both sides recognise their shared interest in developing the sector sustainably.
“What we have seen in recent years is a growing recognition by both operators and regulators that we are ultimately working towards a shared objective,” he said.
He added, “Real progress requires genuine partnership, one in which regulators understand the operational realities and challenges faced by the industry, while operators remain mindful of the broader developmental and regulatory priorities governments are seeking to advance.”
According to him, such an approach would help reduce uncertainty and build a stronger foundation for investment, while allowing governments to pursue their economic and developmental objectives.
The call comes at a time when African oil-producing countries are competing for increasingly selective global investment amid changing energy markets and growing pressure for efficient and commercially viable projects.
Regulatory Certainty Key to Investment
From the private-sector perspective, Mensah identified regulatory stability and the overall ease of doing business as major considerations for investors assessing opportunities across the continent.
“Creating an environment that attracts and sustains investment requires four critical elements: regulatory stability, speed, ease of doing business, and competitive fiscal terms,” he said.
He stressed that the four factors could not be viewed in isolation, arguing that they must collectively provide investors with the confidence required to commit capital over the long term.
For upstream projects, where development can require significant financial resources and long investment horizons, uncertainty around regulations, approvals, fiscal conditions and operating requirements can influence investment decisions.
A predictable regulatory environment, therefore, remains central to Africa's efforts to compete for international capital.
Regulation and National Interest Can Co-exist
Jobe, speaking from the regulatory side, argued that governments should not have to choose between protecting national interests and creating an environment capable of attracting investors.
“A strong regulatory framework must achieve both, creating value for resource owners while providing investors with the clarity, predictability and commercial viability required to operate successfully,” he said.
His position highlighted one of the central issues facing African petroleum-producing countries: how to ensure that natural resources deliver sufficient economic benefits to host nations while maintaining terms attractive enough to encourage international and domestic companies to continue investing.
A balanced framework, stakeholders suggested, should therefore provide clear rules for investors while ensuring that resource-producing countries receive meaningful economic and developmental benefits.
Host Communities Becoming Key Stakeholders
Beyond government and corporate relationships, Oando also highlighted the growing role of host communities in the future of Africa's upstream industry.
Olagunju noted that communities located around oil and gas-producing areas could no longer be viewed simply as neighbours to energy projects.
Instead, they have increasingly become stakeholders whose participation and support can directly affect the sustainability of operations.
He said communities were evolving from being passive residents around natural resources into active participants in the success of oil and gas projects.
The shift places greater emphasis on engagement, trust, development initiatives and the creation of shared value between operators and the communities in which they work.
For energy companies, stronger community relationships can help create a more stable operating environment, while communities stand to benefit from employment, infrastructure, social investment and other opportunities associated with upstream activities.
A More Coordinated Approach
The discussions in Accra reinforced the view that Africa's upstream potential cannot be unlocked through the actions of individual stakeholders working in isolation.
Governments must provide clear and consistent policies, regulators must establish predictable frameworks, operators must work within national development objectives, and host communities must be meaningfully involved in projects that affect their environment and livelihoods.
For Oando Energy Resources, greater coordination among these groups is essential if Africa is to attract the investment needed to develop its petroleum resources and sustain growth in the sector.
The emphasis on partnership also reflects the changing nature of Africa's energy landscape, where countries must balance the need to monetise oil and gas resources with the demands of investors, local communities and broader development goals.
As competition for capital intensifies, stakeholders at the AOW: Energy gathering agreed that creating a more predictable, commercially viable and collaborative operating environment could be critical to determining where future upstream investments are directed.
For Africa's oil and gas industry, the message from the Accra discussion was clear: unlocking the continent's upstream potential will require not only resources beneath the ground, but also stronger partnerships above it.