AEC pledges to continue Africa Energies Summit boycott over local content concerns

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has stated that it will continue to boycott the upcoming Africa Energies Summit over local content and representation concerns. The conference, hosted by the global upstream-focused networking platform Frontier Energy Network, is scheduled to take place in London on May 12 – 14.

According to the AEC, Frontier, led by its principal and chief operating officer (COO) Daniel Davidson, is promoting the summit as “Africa’s Premier Global Upstream Conference.” However, the company itself does not include any Black African professionals in leadership positions.

In a media statement on April 20, the Chamber said it would continue to escalate pressure on the organisers until meaningful changes are made to the event’s approach to local content and hiring practices.

“Our position remains the same: if you benefit from Africa’s resources and its development agenda, then you must reflect Africa in your leadership, hiring and decision-making,” AEC’s executive chairman NJ Ayuk said.

“Local content can no longer be smoke and mirrors – it must be a tangible commitment to inclusion, opportunity and ownership. We cannot accept a situation where Africa is central to the conversation, but Africans are absent from leadership.”

The Chamber said it had made repeated calls on the organisers to review and reform their hiring practices and align them with Africa’s local content and development priorities. However, Frontier’s leadership has not demonstrated any willingness to address concerns about the exclusion of Black African professionals in leadership and decision-making roles.

Following the AEC’s initial call on African energy sector stakeholders to boycott the Africa Energies Summit, the Mozambique Energy Chamber (MEC) on March 16 announced that its members would withdraw from the event. MEC’s president Florival Mucave said the behaviour of Frontier’s leadership towards the hiring of Black professionals was something that many Mozambicans and Africans found offensive.

In April, Ghana joined the boycott, with the Energy Chamber Ghana (ECG) urging the country’s energy authorities to reconsider their participation in the upcoming summit, citing concerns over discriminatory hiring practices, which sideline African professionals. According to the AEC, ministers from the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) also opted to boycott the summit.

At the Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC) in Windhoek last week, the AEC called for strong local content frameworks, gender diversity and inclusive leadership as an engine for the growth of the country’s oil and gas sector. The Chamber warned that the actions of organisations such as Frontier Energy Network and individuals like Daniel Davidson could weaken these efforts and create a broader risk to Africa’s energy development.

“Over the coming weeks we will intensify our campaign to boycott the summit. But the industry must do more: seismic companies that continue enabling these horrible policies will also be targeted,” Ayuk stated. “They are aiding and abetting anti-African policies. Multi-client data does not work with discrimination.”

According to the Chamber, the boycott will remain in place until tangible change is achieved through the establishment of a baseline of fairness, representation and mutual respect. This stance reflects a wider shift across the continent, says the AEC, as governments, national oil companies and indigenous firms increasingly challenge platforms perceived to marginalise African participation.