The MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power conference will be held from September 1-2, 2022. Energy Capital & Power (ECP) is happy to announce that Aguibou Ba, Director General of the Institut National du Pétrole et du Gaz (INPG), will be there to advance the conversation about local content and capacity building as he continues to make a compelling case for the importance of the local workforce in Africa’s gas future.
As large-scale energy developments gain momentum in the MSGBC basin, investor interest is increasing.
Ba, an advocate for building national expertise across the energy sector, will help redefine the region’s energy future, one that is driven by a trained and fiercely competitive local workforce.
The Senegalese State established the INPG in 2017 with the goal of fostering the employment of Senegalese men and women in the oil and gas industry and developing national expertise.
The government moved to create an organization to train, develop, and up-skill the local workforce in response to the discovery of sizable oil and gas reserves in 2014 and 2016.
This put Senegalese men and women at the forefront of the industry’s growth.
The two main facets of the INPG’s mission are information provision and capacity building.
First and foremost, the INPG offers a top-notch institution focused on training engineers, technicians, and operators in the oil and gas industry as well as building the capacity of government agencies, businesses, and researchers in terms of academic expertise and practical oil and gas industry knowledge.
The discoveries at Sangomar and Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA), as well as subsequent project developments like the 100,000 barrel per day Sangomar development project and the 15 trillion cubic feet transnational GTA project, have produced significant employment opportunities for the local workforce.
The INPG is charged with ensuring Senegalese workers are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to oversee these projects.
The INPG, however, goes a step further by acting as the main source of information on oil and gas for stakeholders and as a coordinator for the alignment of local content.
In particular, the organization fosters global cooperation and partnership in the oil and gas industry while providing assistance for academic and technological research in those disciplines.
The government updated local content legislation, including specific amendments that classified operation types and local content deliverables under Decree 2021–2049, as Senegal’s energy sector started to grow and more foreign players entered the country with a mandate to promote local workforce participation.
Reforms specifically stress that products and services that can be satisfactorily provided by local businesses should be, and in cases where the local workforce lacks the necessary technical and financial resources, partnerships should be established between the local workforce and their international counterparts.
The INPG supports the promotion of these alliances by supplying local businesses with knowledge, technical training, and certifications that improve cooperation.
While there is always need for improvement in terms of the local labor force, the INPG has made and is still making tremendous progress toward creating a Senegalese market that is competitive and capable.
With more than 16 years of experience in engineering, management, and training in the oil and gas sector, Ba is tasked with creating the top training platform for the sector.
For his part, he has contributed significantly to bettering localized human capital development while serving as Director General of the INPG and enhancing local content and capacity building throughout Senegal.
Ba will expand on local content conversations by attending MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2022, the official gathering place for regional and global energy leaders and players, and advocating the role that organizations like the INPG play in bolstering Africa’s home markets.
“By 2030, Senegal wants to have a 50 percent local content ratio, and organizations like the INPG will be crucial to achieving this goal.
The INPG has positioned local content at the core of industry growth by training the local workforce in accordance with international industry standards and establishing collaborations that prioritize the engagement of local enterprises and players.
Aguibou Ba will help lead the conversation on capacity building and talent transfer during the region’s official energy conference, making a compelling argument for local content in MSGBC’s energy future, according to Sandra Jeque, international conference director for ECP.