900 million Africans Lack Access to Clean Cooking Solutions—Ayuk

By Adedapo Adesanya

As more efforts continue to enter into making Africa a stronghold for energy, problems still persist, with over 900 million people on the continent lacking access to clean cooking solutions.

Ahead of the African Energy Week (AEW) 2022 next month, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) has reiterated that strengthening the supply and distribution of products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is critical.

The AEC Executive Chairman, Mr NJ Ayuk said, “In 2022, over 900 million people lack access to clean cooking solutions. This is a crisis, one that directly affects the African population and will continue to cause health and socioeconomic challenges unless new fuel solutions are brought on the market in Africa. Gas is the solution to this crisis.

“During AEW 2022, discussions around the role of gas and LPG in Africa’s energy and economic future will be driven,” he added.

For Africa, strengthening the LPG market in 2022 has been key. Currently, large-scale exploration and production projects are underway across the continent that offers the opportunity for the local population to benefit from both power and cooking solutions.

Representing the cleanest fossil fuel as well as the most widely available in Africa – the continent boasts over 620 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven gas reserves, with new exploration campaigns set to increase this figure two-fold – monetizing and utilizing gas will enable Africa to make energy poverty history by 2030.

In addition to power generation opportunities, gas represents the ideal resource for power industries as well as households, providing heat and clean cooking solutions.

Projects such as Senegal and Mauritania’s 15 tcf Greater Tortue Ahmeyim development – the first phase of which is set to come online in 2023; Equatorial Guinea’s 3.7 million tons per annum (mtpa) Punta Europa liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal which aims to improve intra-African gas trade; and the 171 million feet per day Sankofa Gas Project in Ghana are set to bring new supplies online.

Meanwhile, in Southern Africa specifically, over 100 tcf of reserves in Mozambique, 11 tcf in Angola, and possibly 20 tcf in Zimbabwe are set to transform the market, with the regional LPG sector set to witness a boom.

These new gas infrastructure developments aim to significantly improve intra-African gas trade, enabling domestic markets across the continent to benefit from the enhanced natural gas supply. Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), various projects have been launched, including pipelines and trade infrastructure.