The position was presented by the Secretary of State for Oil and Gas, José Barroso, considering that the world is going through a "critical phase" of the energy transition that must be carried out "taking into account the particularities" of African countries.
"We cannot follow the agendas of others. We African oil producing countries have to follow our own agenda for the energy transition, we have in Africa more than 100 million people who do not have access to energy, 600 million people who do not have access to basic services provided by electricity", said the minister.
"Therefore, we must use our mineral resources, and oil and gas in particular, to help our countries develop their actions and thus create better living conditions for the populations, including access to energy", he stressed.
José Barroso, who was speaking in Luanda, at the opening of the third meeting of presidents and directors-general of African national oil and gas companies, defended that African companies have the responsibility to implement policies defined by their respective governments.
"In order to apply strategies and define internal policies that can materialize all the programs that have been discussed, for some time, in the council of ministers of APPO (African Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries), but which unfortunately have not been carried out ", he noticed.
According to the official, representing the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, president of APPO, situations of a geopolitical nature have offered African oil-producing countries opportunities to develop their economies.
The "high prices" of oil on the international market, he stressed, should lead "to think that it is urgent, in this phase of energy transition, to use all the resources that come from the sale of these products" in order to diversify the economies.
"And so, we have countries that in the near future are not totally dependent on oil resources as is the case today", he noted.
He praised the study carried out by APPO, on the future of the oil and gas industry in Africa, which should be taken seriously by all, aiming to "materialize the often-delayed development goals" of African countries.
"We have to look at issues of finance, technology and also market issues, which at the moment are favorable for producing countries, but we must find balanced policies so that we can also respect consumer rights", concluded José Barroso.
"Energy Transition, Challenges and Opportunities in the African Oil and Gas Industry" was the motto of the 8th edition of the African Oil Congress and Exhibition (CAPE VIII), held last May, in Luanda, by APPO.
APPO, chaired by Angola, has 15 member countries and five observer countries.
