H.E. John Bande, Malawi's first Minister of Mining confirmed to speak at East Africa Oil & Gas

H.E. John Bande, Malawi's first Minister of Mining, alongside energy ministers and senior government representatives from Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan, will give the opening key note address at the second East Africa Oil & Gas Summit on Tuesday 08 October 2013, London, UK.

Delegates will hear from H.E. John Bande on future plans for this new but key ministry for the nation. Malawi’s resources sector is steadily growing thanks to a new legal framework that fosters investment and increased exploration activities.

H.E. John Bande estimates: “If we, as a government, do things right then by 2016 we expect 20% of our GDP to come from the extractive sector. “ Three more oil exploration blocks are yet to be awarded to prospecting companies in Lake Malawi, following the award of Block 1 to South African company SacOil last month. The Malawi government, which is seeking firms to explore for hydrocarbons in Lake Malawi, has divided the lake into six blocks and initially awarded UK company Surestream Petroleum blocks 2 and 3, which leaves blocks 4, 5 and 6 still up for grabs.

Bande says “the Malawi government is fast-tracking the awarding of the oil exploration licences because the oil exploration subsector is central to government efforts to ensure substantial economic growth. Malawi has also major plans underway to upgrade the existing infrastructure, fundamental to the development of any resource industry - we are increasing the power generation in the country, the railway line is currently under construction and we have committed to invest in modern geochemical laboratories “.

Bande concludes with a message to international investors: “We expect the companies that are being awarded oil exploration licences to start work immediately and our duty as government will be to monitor the process to ensure that the interests of Malawians are protected as the companies carry out their activities,”

Attendees will also hear from Mozambique’s Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Mines, Ethiopia, South Sudan’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mining, National Oil Corporation of Kenya, ENH, Nilpet South Sudan, Société Générale, Africa Oil Corporation, Ophir Energy, Standard Bank and Wood Mackenzie to name a few.

East Africa Oil & Gas Conference is taking place in London, UK, on 1,2,3 October 2012. For more information on East Africa Oil & Gas Conference please visit http://eastafrica-oil-gas.com/

For more details about the conference, speakers and guests including bios, please contact: Joanna Kotyrba on +44 20 7978 0092 or email jkotyrba@thecwcgroup.com

The event is organised by the CWC Group, an award-winning company which specialises in energy and infrastructure, developing knowledge, creating commercial opportunities and strategic solutions for government and industry by offering professional training, conferences and exhibitions for more information about the CWC Group’s work please visit www.thecwcgroup.com

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This release was published on openPR.