The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), in collaboration with the Association of Portuguese-Speaking Energy Regulators (RELOP), successfully hosted the final of its 2023/2024 webinar series on 28 November 2024.
The webinar attracted over 50 participants from Portuguese-speaking countries, including Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and Portugal. The attendees represented regulatory agencies, government institutions and legal professionals, creating a diverse and engaging audience.
The webinar, conducted in Portuguese, was moderated by César Vamos Ver, Legal Counsel at the ALSF, and featured expert panellists from oil and gas regulatory agencies, national oil companies, and practitioners across Lusophone countries. The webinar comprised two insightful sessions – the first focused on the challenges regulators face in advancing the energy transition, while the second examined how regulations can steer oil companies to contribute to decarbonisation within the petroleum sector.
In the first session, Ms. Victória Correia, Coordinator of the Regulation, Oversight, and Dispute Resolution Team within the Legal Office of the Angolan National Agency for Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels (ANPG) and Ms. Abelina Chambule, from the Directorate of Oversight and Safety from Mozambique’s National Institute of Petroleum (INP) highlighted energy transition challenges, including inadequate capacity and training on issues of the energy transition, and lack of expertise in the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions. The panellists also shared how their respective agencies are aligning with national commitments to emissions reduction and energy transition, including by revising their regulatory frameworks, encouraging cross-border projects focused on carbon capture, utilisation, and storage, and exploring new business models such as biofuels and carbon markets.
The second session spotlighted Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH). The Legal Director of ENH Group, Ms. Júlia Silva, highlighted her company’s initiatives aimed at decarbonisation pursuant to national energy transition commitments. Ms. Silva noted that ENH is contributing to the improvement of the global energy matrix with over 170 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources discovered in Mozambique. In addition, Mr. Ricardo Silva, Partner and Co-Coordinator of the Energy and Natural Resources Practice at Miranda Alliance, shared international principles and strategies for collaboration between oil companies, regulators, and governments to support national decarbonisation plans. According to him, oil companies can play a direct role by sharing know-how and building the capacity of local human resources to facilitate the energy transition.
Participants expressed overall satisfaction with the insights gained from the webinar. The overwhelmingly positive feedback underscored the importance of fostering technical discussions on energy issues in Portuguese, particularly for Lusophone Africa and the ALSF’s commitment to supporting the capacity needs of Lusophone countries in this area.
This webinar marked the conclusion of the ALSF-RELOP joint webinar series for 2023/2024. Building on the success of this initiative, both organisations are actively discussing new opportunities for collaboration to address the expressed needs of Lusophone energy professionals and expand their engagement through capacity building programmes and regular forums.
About the ALSF
Established and hosted by the African Development Bank since 2008, the ALSF supports African governments by providing legal and technical assistance in negotiating complex commercial transactions. The ALSF also provides capacity building in key sectors, including energy, infrastructure and public-private partnerships, natural resources and extractive industries, and sovereign finance.
The ALSF administers the ALSF Academy, an E-Learning Portal aimed at enhancing the skills and expertise of African government officials, lawyers, academics and professionals working in these key sectors.
About RELOP
Established in 2008, RELOP is a membership organisation which brings together the energy regulatory authorities of Portuguese-speaking countries with responsibilities in the electricity, natural gas, biofuels, and oil and derivative fuels sectors.
Contact us
Eve Ehoura, Communication Officer: e.ehoura@afdb.org
Mariam Masini, Legal Counsel and Regional Coordinator for Lusophone Africa: m.masini@afdb.org
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