The location will act as a regional hub for Petroplan’s activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, covering various territories including Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Cameroon, and Tanzania. This move will enable Petroplan to further expand its operations and better service clients across an important growth region for the oil and gas sector.
The opening comes just in time for the 20th Africa Oil Week, which, starting on 25 November, will see the industry descend on Cape Town to discuss the continent’s prospects and challenges at a key point in its development. African proven onshore oil reserves stand at around 124bn barrels, with another 100bn estimated offshore, while its proven reserves of natural gas amounts to around 509tn cubic feet. Recent discoveries highlight the significant upwards potential of these figures; South Africa alone is home to the eighth largest technically recoverable shale gas resources in the world.
The new office will benefit from excellent data infrastructure, and good transport links with both Cape Town and the rest of the country. Jacques Rautenbach has been brought in to head the new hub as Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Having joined Petroplan in September 2012, Jacques brings 14 years of oil and gas sector experience to the role, having worked in a HR and Business Development capacity for drilling and resources companies such as Transocean, Ensco, Total, Shell, and Sasol across a variety of locations in America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Primarily responsible for business development, Jacques will oversee the overall office with a team that will initially include four recruiters, with this number expected to rise to 10 – including two recruiters for permanent positions – by the second quarter of 2014.
Jacques Rautenbach, Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Petroplan, comments: “Establishing a permanent presence in South Africa is a very natural step for Petroplan, given the number of clients and relationships we have in the Sub-Saharan region, and considering the region’s promising future in terms of drilling and exploration.
There is no doubt that Africa will play a central role in the industry’s future growth. The location couldn’t be a better fit; South Africa remains the continent’s strongest economy, and Century City is fast emerging as an energy hub.
For example, Chevron recently moved its headquarters here, and Tullow Oil is headquartered just down the road in Cape Town – the new office puts us closer to our clients, and will enable us to deliver a truly African service in terms of business culture.”
