24 June 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – CSR-in-Action and the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and other stakeholders have announced the 6th Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI) Conference.
SITEI is scheduled to hold on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20, July, 2017, in Abuja for the first time as a two-day event. This year, the Conference has been structured to focus on various aspects of the sector on different days to enable richer discussions as well as result in more actionable outcomes.
The Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI) Conference was birthed in conjunction with the Deputy High Commission of Canada in October 2012, in Lagos. The SITEI Conference which is in its 6th year, is an annual workshop, established by CSR-in-Action to bring together key stakeholders to discuss critical issues in the industries and stimulate meaningful exchange of ideas and best practices among key stakeholder groups and industry experts from the government, business, community, academia, CSOs and media.
The theme for SITEI 2017 is Building Local for Global. SITEI 2017 is focused on harnessing the estimated and promising potential inherent in the industries locally.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), energy consumption will increase by 48% from 2012 to 2040, and fossil fuels will continue to account for 78% of the energy. In addition, an average growth rate of 13.5% between 2017 and 2020 is expected in global mining according to Fitch Group research arm BMI. In a local industry assessment by PwC, mining activities may increase the Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 10 per cent by 2020.
Furthermore, our goal is to ensure alignment with government’s plans of building local capacity for the extractive industries – the focus being on the seven strategic minerals for the mining sector, the 7 Big Wins and the 20-point agenda to end militancy in the Niger Delta for the oil and gas sector.Consequently, SITEI 2017 will create a platform to encourage private sector leadership in driving the agenda, whilst building local capacity in our extractive sector to ensure that local entrepreneurs and investors seamlessly harness the opportunities in the sector, add value to the local economy, positively influence the development of ancillary industries, and make the sector competitive globally.
On interviewing the Founder/Convener of SITEI, Bekeme Masade, to find out the aim of the Conference. she stated that the objective of this year’s conference is “to set indigenous businesses on the course to becoming global enterprises in order to sustainably advance the Nigerian economy”, as this is critical to building local capacity for the human capital and institutions in the sector, as well as for sustainable national development.
According to Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary, NEITI, SITEI’s organising partner, “NEITI is glad to identify and partner with CSR-in-Action to organise the Conference for the third year running. We find the objective of the Conference consistent with the overall mandate of NEITI, and that the overall objective is to ensure that our natural resources aid national development”
The 2017 SITEI Conference will be opened on day one with a keynote address by Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, while Dr Kayode Fayemi, Honourable, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, will open day two of the Conference with a keynote address on the topic “Operationalising the Framework for Globalising our Local Economy”. The Conference will attract other special addresses from several international and local ministers in the sector including Ibrahim Jibril, Honourable Minister of State for Environment, Nigeria; Waziri Adio, Nsima Nkere, MD/CEO, Niger Delta Development Commission, Executive Secretary, NEITI; Frank Dixon Mugyenyi, Senior Industry Advisor, African Union Commission; William Baidoe-Ansah BAIDOE, Director, ECOWAS Directorate of Mining & Geo-extractives Development, Energy & Mines Department; Engr. Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary, NCDMB; Dr. Maikanti Baru, GMD, NNPC.
The Conference will also feature over 25 seasoned speakers from the sector and over 500 senior executives will be in attendance. Other side events of the Conference include the Investor Readiness Workshop happening in June, 2017, for local and international investors and entrepreneurs in the sector.
