The Invest in African Energy 2024 forum awarded Benoît de la Fouchardiere, former Group General Manager of Perenco and current CEO of multi-service company Dixstone, with the Legendary Service to Africa Award on Tuesday.

Uniting African oil and gas industry giants, the award was presented by Marcel Abéké, Minister of Petroleum of Gabon; NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber; Armel Simondin, CEO of Perenco; Tim O’Hanlon, Senior Advisor to Panoro Energy; and Jean Michel-Jacoulot, CEO of Trident Energy.

“The energy industry has always been composed of champions who serve so much. Benoît took Perenco to bigger places. We thank you for showing that it’s not about the company – it’s about the people,” said Ayuk.

Under the leadership of de la Fouchardiere, Perenco has evolved into a regional leader in integrated oil and gas development, with operations spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Gabon, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. In Gabon, the company is spearheading the $1-billion Cap Lopez LNG terminal – set to transform the country into an LNG exporter – as well as the re-development of mature and marginal assets.

“Today, we are able to reinvent the future of mature fields in Gabon, to take gas resources and utilize them for the good of the people and of Africa. We are now moving forward with this gas project in Gabon – this is your vision,” said Simondin. 

“Moving into very challenging sectors of the gas business is a credit to you,” noted O’Hanlon. 

Julius Rone, Group Managing Director and CEO of UTM Offshore, was also honored with the Changemaker for Pioneering Gas Monetization by FLNG Award. UTM Offshore is currently driving Nigeria’s energy transition through the development of a floating LNG plant – the first of its kind to be developed in the country by an indigenous company – aiming to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and monetize its 200+ trillion cubic feet of natural gas.