wilkinson A respect for Africa By Rick Wilkinson EMR Resources has only been going for four months and already it stands out from the pack of companies looking to make a mark in Africa. The new entity was conceived following an informal, almost jocular conversation between two geologists, Eve Howell and Max de Vietri, beside the Perth airport baggage carousel. Rapport The pair discovered an instant rapport during which de Vietri, a founder of Baraka Petroleum, described the research he was doing for his PhD on the economic, social and political impact of establishing a petroleum industry in Mauritania and Howell spoke of her desire to step away from the high-flying corporate world and ‘do something – perhaps communityrelated’ in her native Africa following her retirement from Woodside Petroleum at the end of 2011. A friendship was forged and the talk continued over a number of weeks bringing in a third party, Columbianborn engineer and business development manager Ricardo Garzón Rangel, who had worked with de Vietri prior to and during Baraka’s presence in West Africa. The chats revolved around what the trio would do if they were to try and put together a company to explore what they saw as the immense potential of Africa’s mining and petroleum resources. All three had strong personal convictions that a key objective would be to make sure that the communities (read countries) in which they worked benefited from any project development. Rick Wilkinson In their words: ‘not grading the token stretch of road, building the odd school house or stocking the local dispensary. We mean helping for the longer term in the true economic, educational, social and political development of the countries in which we operate – providing catalysts for infrastructure and working closely with local people.’ Big words and big objectives, but not to be mistaken for sentimentality. Collectively the three principals of EMR have well-recognised reputations for their geological and managerial expertise, political savvy and negotiating skills and obviously there have to be good commercial reasons for engaging in any project. At the beginning of 2011 they decided to do it and secured some financial backing. Opportunity Potential Howell’s ‘retirement’ occupied less than a day before she tackled her new role as EMR’s chair and CEO. Garzón Rangel became managing director and de Vietri non-executive director. Much of this year has already been spent in Africa looking for and sounding out potential projects. EMR is initially focusssing on West Africa (Mauritania, Mali and maybe Côte d’Ivoire) and East Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and perhaps Kenya) where there is some infrastructure and progressive government which welcomes foreign investment. In its first year the company is looking to build a portfolio of five or six projects with a mix of grass roots oil&gasgazette March 2012 | Volume 3 Number 31 Subscription only, published monthly EDITOR Haydn Black Email [email protected] ADVERTISING Will Butun Email [email protected] PUBLISHER Con Giannas Email [email protected] PRODUCTION Sara Langridge Email [email protected] ACCOUNTS Julie Carnelley Email [email protected] marketING Coral Williams Email [email protected] Head Office 1/34 Kings Park Road West Perth Western Australia 6005 Postal Address PO Box 849 West Perth Western Australia 6872 Telephone +61 8 9382 3955 Facsimile +61 8 9388 1025 Homepage www.riu.com.au 4 March 2012 O&G exploration and those on the threshold of development – the latter to provide an early cash flow. Medium-sized mining projects, particularly gold, are on the shopping list because they can be rewarding for a small financial outlay. But EMR is also on the lookout for niche onshore oil and gas plays. Howell and Garzón Rangel point out, for instance, there are cases where gas discoveries have been set aside for various reasons as low priority in a company’s development portfolio. EMR would offer them the opportunity to bring such finds on stream earlier than would otherwise be the case to provide power generation for local projects. Gas would be the enabler. If mining developments and gas-power projects can be combined, so much the better. Already it is clear that numerous opportunities exist. The skill will be in picking and negotiating projects that fulfil EMR’s goals, as well as in finding institutions/people with similar convictions to back the company financially and in the selection of likeminded employees to bring the aims to reality. None of that is unusual for a start-up resources company. What sets EMR apart is its sincerity, genuine social concern and its determination to pay more than lip service to the countries in which it works. They are rare and refreshing commodities in corporate circles of this day and age. Resource Information Unit also publishes: Gold & Minerals Gazette Register of Australian Mining Register of African Mining Register of Indo-Pacific Mining Minelist CD MIDAS CD ISSN 1038 — 1317 WARNING! This publication (Registered by Australia Post; Mail Registration No. 665002/00173) is subject to copyright and cannot be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without the consent of the editor.