Nigeria, Ghana, and six other African countries have formally signed the African Petroleum Regulators Forum (AFRIPERF) Charter, marking a significant move toward harmonising oil and gas regulations across the continent.
The signing took place on Thursday during the 31st Africa Oil Week in Accra, Ghana, under the chairmanship of the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, who also serves as interim chairman of AFRIPERF.
According to a statement from NUPRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, Komolafe described the charter as “a decisive step towards building a harmonised and sustainable petroleum industry in Africa,” adding that Nigeria had once again demonstrated leadership in advancing the continent’s oil and gas sector.
Countries that endorsed the charter include Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Gambia, Madagascar, Sudan, Guinea, and Togo. Meanwhile, Kenya, Mauritania, Benin, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, and Morocco expressed support and pledged to join after further consultations.
The charter’s mission is to strengthen cooperation among African petroleum regulators to promote a safe, efficient, equitable, and sustainable petroleum industry. Its vision is to become the leading platform for sharing knowledge, best practices, and expertise across the sector.
It further outlines principles for regulatory harmonisation, environmental protection, capacity building, and investment attraction, while aligning with energy transition goals such as digitalisation, renewable integration, and emission reduction.
Komolafe emphasised that Africa must approach the global energy transition with “innovation, responsibility, and foresight,” and proposed that AFRIPERF’s Annual General Meeting be held alongside Africa Oil Week to boost visibility and participation.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by regulators from 16 countries, with Nigeria’s Senate Committee Chairman on Upstream, Senator Etang Williams, present as an observer.
