Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Roma (Agenzia Fides)- To cope with rising fuel prices, the countries of southern African have decided to join forces and coordinate their national energy policies. The Southern African Development Community, SADC decided to create the Regional Petroleum and Gas Association, REPGA to promote trade in petroleum products among member countries. REPGA will also harmonise standards and regulations in the sector.
The creation of REPGA was proposed in a meeting of the SADC sub-committee for petroleum, coal and gas held at Gaborone (Botswana) in April 2002.
REPGA will coordinate activity to identify new hydrocarbons resources in the region and possibly set up an advisory service for the revision of data and information relative to the hydrocarbon sector in the member countries. The advisory service will assess possible regulations for the region's energy sector of gas, petroleum as well as electricity.
SADC member countries are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia e Zimbabwe and its offices are in Gaborone, Botswana.
Southern Africa exports energy (the value of its exports is higher than that of its imports), but there are differences among importer and exporter countries. The main SADC oil producer is Angola (1,05 mill barrels a day in 2004) while new potential fields are being explored in Namibia, Tanzania and Democratic Congo (and also in Uganda, not a member of the community). There are good prospects for the natural gas sector after field were discovered along the coasts of Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. In Tanzania however, rising fuel prices has caused rising inflation, as in South Africa, rich in many natural resources but not in petroleum.
If the SADC countries succeed in creating a common energy market and cooordinate the energy policies they will be able counter the rising prices of hydrocarbons and create the conditions to accelerate development all over southern Africa. There are interesting prospects for collaboration with Brazil, already very active in the petroleum sector in Angola, above all in the light of a partnership between South Africa, Brazil and India. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/7/2007 righe 36 parole 424)
