African Energy Week: Africa Must Prioritize its Energy Security

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Convening energy ministers, investors, financiers, and experts for the next African Energy Week (AEW), on October 12–16, in  Cape Town, South Africa, aims to take one more step toward Africa’s energy ambitions that could translate into investment, production, infrastructure and economic growth. Several years have passed, and yet African states are struggling to explore fossil fuels, natural oil and gas in particular, to help alleviate the debilitating energy poverty impacting more than 600 million people. Energy deficits largely affect prospects for industrialisation across the continent of Africa.

The world political powers are competing for oil and gas to power their way there, and Africa is primed to deliver it. In fair deliveries, leaders have to refine their negotiation skills in order to strike mutually acceptable percentages. The hydrocarbon-bearing states on the continent deserve to enjoy the same benefits the developed world reaped when they extracted and monetised the fossil fuels beneath their soil and off their shores.

The people of Africa have waited long enough for the advantages and opportunities of modernisation. Since the African Energy Chamber’s inception, and always with an eye toward an eventual energy transition, it has offered Africa guidance on negotiating this process. Now that the African Energy Chamber is bringing the stakeholders, investors and energy giants to the table in October, it is likely that most of the aspirations will be achieved.

However, foreign investments and private sector participation, and the drive for market liberalisation of Africa’s energy, with several agreements signed with foreign energy firms and African governments, have recorded little progress. In the meantime, it is important to note that the African Energy 2024 report by the African Energy Chamber (AEC), it called for greater investment in natural oil and gas, and renewables in Africa. Over the next five years, the AEC anticipates $260 billion in industry spending, supporting millions of direct and indirect jobs and wages annually through 2028.

The Energy Week will, therefore, feature another round of series of projects and deal-making opportunities and panel discussions, intended to specifically address the state of domestic energy developments and other related energy topics. A knowledgeable group of industry participants and advisors, comprised of executives from many companies and governments, including public and private energy companies, as well as advisory, investment, private equity, industry trade groups, regulatory agencies and support firms, will be on hand for all presentations, panels and discussions.

While the energy crisis is threatening jobs and economic development–and energy poverty in Africa, especially in South Africa, where blackouts have become the norm and the downfall of Africa’s manufacturing powerhouse, disrupting the continent’s socioeconomic development–there has never been a more crucial time for international investors and energy companies to maximise energy partnerships with Africa.

The AEC believes that now is the time to optimise and ensure the sustainable development and exploitation of Africa’s oil and gas resources. The Chamber is committed to continuing its partnership with African policymakers and international investors and partners to create an enabling environment and facilitate Africa’s energy sector expansion.

The Case for South Africa

Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk, for instance, restated that the recently signed liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province is a promising step on the long road to Africa’s just energy transition. The project, being jointly developed by Kinetic Energy of Australia and the Industrial Corporation of South Africa (IDC), a national development finance institution, will capitalise on Kinetic Energy’s recent 3.1 billion cubic feet natural gas discovery in Amersfoort, Mpumalanga. The project is expected to produce 50 megawatts (MW) of equivalent energy and eventually expand to 500 MW.

The project, which Kinetic Energy describes as South Africa’s largest onshore LNG project, exemplifies natural gas potential to grow the country’s economy and meet domestic energy needs. This all comes about as South Africa works to expand its oil and gas operations in order to curb its reliance on coal and help pave the way to eventual decarbonization.

South Africa is not alone, either. As the African Energy Chamber (AEC) covers in our recently released “The State of African Energy 2024 Outlook Report,” natural gas production is on the rise both globally and in Africa. Even more promising, our report notes that “upstream operators are now revising their strategies and aligning their future investments more in line with the energy transition, and natural gas is being looked at as a transition fuel.”

Using the Resources under Africa’s Feet

For several years, the African Energy Chamber has been consistently advocating and facilitating the energy transition, and wealthy states to support Africa to exploit its energy resources, provide a pathway for economic growth and ensure energy security to help Africa realise these benefits. In practical terms, African countries have to resolve energy poverty and industrialise. This is simply its energy development story. The West has consistently made grand financial promises, but the level of support truly needed to undertake a transition from pledges and promises to the stage of realisation.

The 2026 edition will put investment opportunities from across the continent before the international energy community, with established producers and emerging markets seeking capital, technology and commercial partners.

Angola’s offshore expansion and new capital opportunities will feature alongside Nigeria’s next upstream growth cycle. The region will present its gas and infrastructure potential, while Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania will draw attention to exploration and development opportunities in East Africa.

North Africa’s brownfield projects and gas markets will also feature, together with South Africa’s downstream, power and infrastructure opportunities and the wider Orange Basin story. Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and other emerging energy destinations will have opportunities to engage investors and present their prospects.

NJ Ayuk wants these engagements to produce more than expressions of interest. Governments and operators are being encouraged to bring forward projects and investment pipelines that can attract financing, technology and development partners. The emphasis on investment reflects the AEC’s longstanding position that Africa must do more to convert its abundant energy resources into production, industrial activity, jobs and reliable electricity.

Global Majors, African Energy Champions

AEW 2026 is expected to bring together a broad cross-section of the industry, with NJ Ayuk highlighting TotalEnergies, Chevron, ExxonMobil and bp among the global energy companies central to the event’s industry engagement. Regional operators and independents identified in his message include Azule Energy, VALCO Energy, Trident Energy, Perenco, Afentra, Tullow, Rhino Resources, Sintana Energy and BW Energy.

National oil companies will have a prominent place in the discussions, with Sonangol, Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Petrosen, SANPC, Petroci and Mozambique’s ENH among the institutions highlighted by Ayuk. Their involvement will bring opportunities across exploration, production, infrastructure and partnerships into direct contact with international investors and service providers.

For companies looking to enter new African markets or expand existing operations, NJ Ayuk is presenting AEW as an opportunity to meet the officials and executives responsible for licensing, investment decisions and project development. The gathering will also bring together companies operating across the wider energy value chain, including engineering, procurement and construction firms, technology providers, logistics companies, financial institutions and specialised service businesses.

The Common Denominator

Expectations for October Energy Week are a double commitment to raise energy capacity and double energy efficiency across the board by 2030. It is also important to consider some additional inconvenient truths to the gathering. The promise of continental energy is real, but the technology that would provide it is not yet available. Finance is another headache, while the majority still lack the capacity to adequately supply basic energy power.

“AEW is bigger than five days on a calendar,” the Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk, declared, describing the forthcoming gathering as a movement bringing Africa’s energy leaders, investors, project developers and global industry together around a common objective: turning the continent’s energy potential into tangible results.

For NJ Ayuk, the attraction of AEW lies in the people it brings together and the business they can do. Ministers will meet investors, national oil companies will present opportunities to international partners, and corporate executives will engage financiers and project developers. The aim is to move discussions beyond conference halls and into commercial agreements.

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) organises major industry gatherings, such as the annual Africa Energy Week (AEW) conference, to facilitate deal-making and partnerships. “This is where deals are made,” NJ Ayuk said, underscoring the AEC’s determination to make the October gathering a meeting point for the people who can finance, develop and deliver Africa’s energy projects. The AEC is an advocacy group and networking organisation that promotes growth, investment, and local participation across Africa’s oil, gas, and broader energy sectors. It brings together African governments, national oil companies, international investors, and private sector experts. It drives capital and technical expertise toward energy projects, aiming to eradicate energy poverty.