East Africa’s Oil and Gas Boom – Promise and Peril
Past Event
East Africa’s Oil and Gas Boom – Welcome Remarks
Recent discoveries of oil and gas reserves in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique have the potential to greatly impact and transform economies in East Africa. More than 50 wells were completed in the region in 2012, delivering nearly half of conventional oil and gas resources found worldwide that year. Used responsibly, billions of dollars of new government revenues will support investments in infrastructure and social services; at the same time, these discoveries can engender or exacerbate local conflicts, fuel corruption, negatively impact the environment, and disrupt local communities and livelihoods.
On February 20, the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings and Oxfam America live webcasted a multi-panel discussion on the East African oil and gas boom. Speakers from government, the private sector, civil society, think tanks and academia examined the contours of the boom; how to maximize benefits from the sector; lessons from other new producers, such as Ghana; the risks facing these countries; and the necessary policy responses needed to make the most of this new found wealth while protecting the rights of people and the environment.
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Agenda
Welcome Remarks
Mwangi S. Kimenyi
Former Brookings Expert
Panel 1: Protecting Rights, Protecting the Environment, Preventing Conflict
Ikal Angelei
Executive Director - Friends of Lake Turkana (Kenya)
Bennett Freeman
Senior Vice President, Calvert Asset Management
Emily Greenspan
Senior Policy Advisor - Oxfam America
Peter Veit
Acting Director, Governance Center of Excellence - World Resources Institute
Sandy Stash
Vice President, Safety, Sustainability and External Affairs - Tullow Oil
Coffee Break
Panel 2: Transformative Wealth, Transforming Economies?
Prosper Ngowi
Professor of Economics - Mzumbe University (Tanzania)
Adriano Nuvunga
Director - Centro para a Democracia e Desenvolvimento
Professor of Political Science and Governance - Universidade Eduardo Mondlane
Charles Wanguhu
Coordinator - Kenya CSO Platform on Oil and Gas
Godber Tumushabe
Former Executive Director - Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (Uganda)
Mohammad Amin Adam
Executive Director - African Center for Energy Policy (Ghana)
Lunch
Maria Ramos
Senior Program Advisor - Oxfam America
Ikal Angelei
Executive Director - Friends of Lake Turkana (Kenya)
Bennett Freeman
Senior Vice President, Calvert Asset Management
Emily Greenspan
Senior Policy Advisor - Oxfam America
Peter Veit
Acting Director, Governance Center of Excellence - World Resources Institute
Sandy Stash
Vice President, Safety, Sustainability and External Affairs - Tullow Oil
Panel 3: Supporting the Way Forward – Business and Policy Responses to Challenges and Opportunities
Simon Thompson
Chairman - Tullow Oil
Ricardo Soares de Oliveira
Lecturer, African Politics - Oxford University
Carlos Pascual
Former U.S. ambassador to Mexico
Senior Vice President for Global Energy - IHS Markit
Former Brookings expert
More Information
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