The Energy Republic February - March Edition 2023

AFRICAN ENERGY STORIES
Per Magnus Nysveen, Chief Analyst for Rystad Energy
INVEST IN AFRICAN ENERGY 2023:
Rystad Energy Highlights Growth
Opportunities in Africa
The African Energy Chamber (AEC)
hosted its Invest in African Energy
Recep on in London on Thursday
26th January 2023, with European, US
a n d U K i nvestors a e n d i n g a n d
submi ng interest in Africa’s most
bankable oil, gas and power projects.
Independent energy research firm,
Rystad Energy, presented its Africa’s
Energy Sector Outlook 2023, outlining the
current state of the industry and forecast
supply and demand dynamics.
According to a presenta on from Rystad
Energy – “Energy Addi on for Africa” –
Sub-Saharan Africa holds 140 billion
barrels of oil equivalent, of which only
one-third is developed and two-thirds of
undeveloped resources are natural gas.
New investment in oil and gas explora on
and produc on is necessary, not only to
maximize recent discoveries along
Africa’s 40,000-km coastline, but also to
meet rising energy demand globally and
stabilize price hikes. “For 10 years,
produc on has been lagging, which
created the super cycle of oil prices,”
noted Per Magnus Nysveen, Chief Analyst
for Rystad Energy.
Accordingly, Africa’s greenfield upstream
spending is expected to boom during the
coming decade, reaching $37 billion by
2025 and $50 billion by 2030.
The con nent con nues to require new
hydrocarbon explora on and drilling ac vi es,
even in the context of the energy transi on
and simultaneous investments in solar, wind,
hydropower and natural gas. “We need as
much as 65 million barrels by 2030 from wells
that have not been drilled yet,” Nysveen
added.
In terms of power genera on, Rystad Energy
states that African countries must harness
their renewable resources in conjunc on with
natural gas – which “must double” – in order to
meet rising electricity demand. South Africa’s
Just Energy Transi on Investment Plan, which
has already secured $8.5 billion for the period
2023-2027, exemplifies this strategy, with the
country depending on natural gas to
decarbonize its current power mix.
“We could not have chosen a be er city to start
our African energy journey. London, we thank
you. At the core of what we do is to make
energy poverty history,” said NJ Ayuk,
Execu ve Chairman of the AEC. “Everybody
showed up. That tells you that it’s me for
Africa and it’s me for us to stop apologizing
for producing energy for the world.”
“African na ons must focus on developing a
natural gas market to serve as the founda on
of the con nent’s energy industry.
“Africa will be unable to meet the UN’s
sustainable development goals unless we tap
into all resources available, which is why we must
encourage and facilitate interna onal
investment, specifically from Europe, in oil and
gas in order to fairly and economically par cipate
in the global energy transi on and drive
socioeconomic development throughout the
con nent.”
Advancing a bold agenda for the African energy
sector, the AEC strives to unite governments and
credible businesses to spur growth under
interna onal standard business prac ces and
posi on Africa to capitalize on energy investment
through strategic partnerships and trade.
With the African con nent focusing its efforts on
li ing 600 million people who currently lack
access to reliable and affordable electricity and
900 million who lack access to affordable clean
cooking solu ons out of energy poverty, the
Invest in African Energy Recep on will provide an
opportunity for investors to explore various
ini a ves, which include gas-to-power and
renewable energy developments, as well as oil
and natural gas explora on and produc on
prospects.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, demand for gas in
Europe is expected to rapidly increase in the
coming years, thus posi oning Africa to take
advantage of its immense untapped resources
and become a major supplier of oil and natural
gas and ensure global energy security while
tackling the challenges and opportuni es across
the con nent.
The Invest in African Energy Recep on Event
serves as the premier pla orm for interna onal
dignitaries, execu ves, and companies to
par cipate and operate in Africa’s energy sector,
where access to affordable and reliable energy
will be fundamental towards development, while
simultaneously showcasing the pressing need to
balance all forms of energy development to
ensure a just energy transi on and mi gate the
global energy crisis.
60
OIL AND GAS REPUBLIC I SPECIAL EDITION