Africa’s Energy Future
Africa is the world’s second largest continent, with 1.3 billion people in 55 countries.
However, an estimated 600m of those do not have any access to electricity.
At the AIEN International Energy Summit, the Africa’s Energy Future panel looked at how
views on the energy transition are fuelling international investment decisions and what the
outlook for the continent is.
One of the biggest issues raised is the problems with comparing policies in Europe, Africa
and the rest of the world. Paul McDade, CEO and Founder of Afentra, said: “When you go
into someone else’s home, you need to be able to see things from their perspective. Africa
needs to be able to develop Africa, with our support, in the context it wants to develop
itself. There is a changing landscape in Africa, which has huge potential, but needs to be
handled in the right way. The transition away from oil and gas is much further away than the
West is saying.”
“Africa is at a crossroad where we are facing a global tsunami,” added NJ Ayuk, chairman of
the Africa Energy Chamber. “There is a big transition on the horizon and we need new
technologies. However, we are told by Europe we need to get away from the oil and gas
industry and then we see new LNG terminals opened in Germany, and a coal mine
announced in the UK.”
Kalidou Gadio, Partner at Curtis, said: “The question isn’t about using fossil fuels in a
harmful way, or not using them at all. We can do both. We can use them in a responsible
way. The big companies can produce oil and gas in a sustainable way. Exploration is
continuing in Africa – it is not going to stop. As long as there’s a buyer, we will produce”.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also had a big impact on the outlook in Africa.
“Ukraine has caused opportunities for Africa,” said Gadio. “As long as Europe is in need of
energy, they will finance places like Africa. Financing is better today than it has been, but it
could also reverse. The future of Africa shouldn’t rely on a war in Europe.”
The panel was speaking at the AIEN International Energy Summit 2022 at the London Hilton
on Park Lane.
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