African Energy Chamber East African president Elizabeth Rogo has been appointed as a board member of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya.
An engineer by profession with over 21 years of experience in the energy industry, Rogo is expected to drive the National Oil Corporation of Kenya’s efforts to improve oil and gas exploration, production, monetization and exploitation.
Rogo is the founder and CEO of TSAVO Oilfield Services, a leading Kenyan energy consultancy.
“Having led oil and gas operations for international companies such as BJ Services, Baker Hughes and Weatherford in the U.S, the UK, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique; Rogo’s experience is critical in boosting oil and gas exploration, production and exploitation to help Kenya address energy poverty and accelerate economic growth,” a congratulatory message by AEC said.
Her appointment comes at a time Kenya is experiencing fuel shortage.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma, who is also acting at the Petroleum docket, on April 14 said NOCK would play a key role in stabilising the sector. In the plan, the government will grant NOCK the tender to ship 30 per cent of Kenya’s monthly fuel imports to reduce dependency on independent oil marketers.
Juma said the government will also build a strategic national petroleum reserve as part of a long-term plan to avert future fuel crises.
Kenya’s over four billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and a largely underdeveloped natural gas sector will be vital to improve energy access in the country. Rogo’s appointment as a board member of the National Oil Corporation, AEC said, is a game changer in that direction.
“With fossil fuels accounting for 32.5% of Kenya’s energy mix, Rogo’s experience in oil and gas production will help shape the country’s direction in optimizing oil production to meet domestic energy needs,” the statement said.
Despite having massive oil reserves, Kenya is a net oil and fuel importer and spends large amounts of money on importation, a development that is straining the country’s economy.
In addition, with recent geopolitics development such as the Russian-Ukraine war increasing the global prices for crude oil, the vulnerability of Kenya’s economy to global price volatility has further intensified, highlighting the need for Kenya to up its game in exploiting domestic energy resources.
Moreover, with a lack of adequate investments having restrained the growth of Kenya’s hydrocarbons segment over the past years, AEC said Rogo’s experience in growing strong strategic partnerships with TSAVO Oilfield Services and as a Business Development Manager with Weatherford will be critical in helping NOCK to attract foreign direct investments to enhance midstream and downstream infrastructure development.
“In addition, with Kenya seeking to optimize the monetization of its oil resources to drive GDP growth, which the World Bank anticipates will expand by five per cent in 2022, Rogo’s Sales and Marketing experience with Baker Hughes will help the National Oil Corporation to optimize the marketing of petroleum products,” it added.
AEC Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk said Rogo will help NOCK become not only a world class corporation that meets energy needs of the future but also remain instrumental in ensuring energy poverty is addressed in Kenya and across Africa by 2030 through the exploitation of domestic resources.
“The AEC is also confident that Kenya’s energy sector is headed for success with the appointment of a strong fighter and role model like Rogo. Stakeholders like Rogo will be influential in helping Africa to develop its own narrative of what a just and inclusive energy transition looks like,” Ayuk said.
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