By Ezaruku Draku Franklin

Ms Proscovia Nabbanja, the Chief Executive Officer of Uganda National Oil Company and the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline Project have been nominated for the 2022 Africa Energy Awards alongside several other individuals and companies in the energy sector on the African continent.

Run by the African Energy Chamber (AEC), the voice of the African energy sector, award recognizes the outstanding and inspiring energy projects and innovators that contribute to the energy sector on the continent.

“The African Energy Chamber (AEC), the voice of the African energy sector, is proud to announce nominees for the African Energy Awards 2022 to celebrate the relentless dedication and innovative mechanisms implemented by professionals and organizations within the continent’s energy industry to make energy poverty history by 2030, while driving socioeconomic development,” a statement from the Africa Energy Chamber says.

Nabbanja is nominated for the CEO of the year award, which recognizes the achievement of high-level executives that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their organizations.

Others on the list include; Sebastião Gaspar Martins, President of the Board of Directors, Sonangol E.P; Benoît de la Fouchardiere, Group General Manager, Perenco; Philip Mshelbila, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria LNG Limited; Fleetwood Grobler, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sasol Limited; Sabine Dall’Omo, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa and Catherine Uju Ifejika, Chief Executive Officer, Brittania-U.

Nabbanja said she was humbled by the nomination, especially coming up against the big names on the continent. She said this only highlights the efforts UNOC has made in ensuring that Ugandans benefit from the oil resources.

“I am very humbled by the nomination for CEO of the Year Award by the Africa Energy Awards that recognize the achievement of high-level executives that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their organizations. Standing alongside the leadership of Sonangol, Perenco, Sasol Ltd, Nigerial LNG, Siemens and Brittania makes me proud,” she said.

She said her focus is in pulling Ugandans and Africans out of poverty through industrialisation and other ventures that will improve their livelihoods.

“As industry leaders we have a mission to eradicate energy poverty in Africa, propel industrialization and transform our economies using our oil and gas resources. I appreciate the Africa Energy Chamber for the initiative to recognize the tireless efforts of the leaders and organizations that are committed to delivering the so much desired good,” she added.

Who is Proscovia Nabbanja?

Nabbanja has 19 years of experience in oil and gas industry. She formerly served as a Principal Geologist in the Petroleum Exploration & Production Department under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. She headed the Technical Division and was at the forefront of reviews of technical proposals especially field development plans and petroleum reservoir reports.

She headed the estimation and reporting of the oil resources and reserves in the country, field operations monitoring and management of petroleum data.

She has sat on a number of inter-ministerial committees and also worked on a number of Donor funded programs such as Oil for Development and USAID. Proscovia holds a BSc (Chemistry, Geology) -MUK, MSC Petroleum Geoscience- Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, DIC, Dip Petroleum Management and Operations, MBA-Imperial College Business School.

Other Categories

Scheduled for October 18 – 21, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa, this year’s edition of the African Energy Awards will celebrate and honor Africa’s leading energy projects and leaders for their groundbreaking contributions to the industry in style.

In the Game-Changer of the Year Award which is given to the company or organization that has revolutionized its field, changing the rules of what is common ground and what has become the new rule, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) was nominated alongside RENERGEN Ltd, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Tanzania Liquefied Natural Gas Project (TLNGP), Azule Energy, Shell Namibia, TotalEnergies Namibia and Sanha Lean Gas Connection (SLGC).

Other categories include the National Oil Company of the Year Award, recognising the achievements of the National Oil Company that has most proven capable to not only be a reliable partner, but to be the leading entity in the road to its nation’s energy ambitions, Gas Monetization Award, which recognizes companies and projects that are upheaving gas monetization in Africa to close the energy poverty gap, Operational Excellence Leader of the year Award given to the company that has excelled in operating on the continent, recognizing champions that are protecting and promoting local populations while ensuring fair and safe operations

The last group include African Independent of the Year Award which goes to the independent who has succeeded in making a footprint in the continent and opening up the upstream game for new explorers to come, and Renewable Energy Project of the Year, given to a company or organization driving innovation across the renewables market and or increasing Africa’s renewables penetration as the continent seeks to diversify its energy mix for energy security.

List of nominees

NOC of the Year Award

National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR), National Oil Corporation (Libya), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Sonatrach, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Sonangol, E.P.

Gas Monetization Award:

Eni Mozambique, EG LNG, Decade of Gas – Nigeria, Greenville Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd. And Sanha Lean Gas Connection (SLGC).

Operational Excellence Leader of the year Award

EG LNG, ENI Angola, SEPLAT Energy, Somoil, SA, Perenco and PETROSEN SA.

ESG Leader of the Year Award

Bp, Equinor, TotalEnergies SE, SEPLAT Energy, Kosmos Energy Ltd and Oando PLC.

African Independent of the Year Award

Kosmos Energy Ltd, SEPLAT Energy, Perenco, Somoil, SA and Brittania-U.

Game-Changer of the Year Award:

RENERGEN Ltd, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Tanzania Liquefied Natural Gas Project (TLNGP), East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP), Azule Energy, Shell Namibia, TotalEnergies Namibia and Sanha Lean Gas Connection (SLGC).

Renewable Energy Project of the Year

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy – Green Hydrogen Project, Namibia; CWP Global – AMAN Green Hydrogen Project; Mauritania: Chariot Energy Group – Project Nour, Mauritania; ACWA Power – Ouarzazate Solar Power Complex, Morocco; Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited – Lake Turkana Wind Farm, Kenya and Phelan Energy Group – Floating Solar Power Farms, South Africa.