Oluchi Chibuzor
The Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), NJ Ayuk, has called on African governments to accelerate oil and gas exploration, expand energy infrastructure and mobilise financing for domestic projects, arguing that the continent must prioritise energy security and economic development to tackle widespread energy poverty.
Ayuk, who spoke at the African Energy Week (AEW) held recently, urged governments to adopt an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that accommodates oil, gas, renewable energy and other sources to meet the continent’s growing energy needs.
He argued that Africa should resist external pressure to leave its hydrocarbon resources undeveloped while millions of people lack reliable electricity and access to modern energy services.
“Energy poverty is not a climate strategy, and deprivation is not development,” he said, stressing that the continent needed to pursue energy policies that reflected its development priorities and economic realities.
Ayuk said Africa was approaching a critical moment in the global energy market, with geopolitical tensions and disruptions to international supply chains highlighting the importance of reliable energy supplies.
He maintained that energy security depended on infrastructure, logistics, investment and effective execution, rather than policy declarations alone.
According to him, Africa must urgently develop electricity grids, pipelines, factories and other infrastructure needed to support industrialisation, improve living standards and create jobs.
Ayuk said the continent’s hydrocarbon production was projected to reach 11 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026 and increase to 12.5 million barrels by 2030.
He identified Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Libya and Egypt as major contributors to Africa’s oil and gas production, while urging other countries to improve their regulatory frameworks and investment conditions to unlock additional resources.
On Nigeria, Ayuk said reforms to deepwater fiscal and contractual terms were important to attracting investment and achieving the country’s production ambitions.
He also cited Angola’s use of fiscal incentives to revitalise mature oilfields, arguing that established petroleum-producing countries needed to maintain investment in existing assets while developing new reserves.
Ayuk challenged South Africa to address regulatory and legislative obstacles affecting the development of its petroleum resources, particularly in the Orange Basin.
He argued that discoveries in neighbouring Namibia had strengthened the case for further exploration and development planning in the wider offshore region.
The AEC chairman urged South African authorities to provide greater regulatory clarity, remove unnecessary barriers and accelerate decisions required to attract investment into prospective petroleum areas.
He also highlighted emerging exploration opportunities in frontier basins, including Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, where new agreements with international oil companies could help revive interest in underexplored petroleum provinces.
Ayuk called for a balanced approach that would encourage investment in both frontier and mature basins, noting that near-field exploration, brownfield optimisation and improved contractual terms were necessary to offset natural production declines.
He argued that African countries could not achieve sustainable growth in oil and gas production without consistent exploration and investment.
“Exploration is the absolute key to our survival,” he said, adding that developing the continent’s resources remained important to efforts to eradicate energy poverty.
The AEC chairman also highlighted the planned Africa Energy Bank as a potential source of financing for oil, gas and other energy projects across the continent.
He expressed appreciation to the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for their roles in advancing the initiative, describing the proposed institution as an important step towards strengthening Africa’s capacity to finance its energy development.
Ayuk argued that African energy projects faced difficulties securing international financing amid changing investment policies and restrictions affecting fossil fuel developments.
He criticised what he described as inconsistent approaches to gas financing, arguing that natural gas continued to play an important role in supporting industrial activity and energy security in developed economies while similar projects in Africa faced mounting funding constraints.
He urged African financial institutions and commercial banks to increase support for viable energy projects, saying the continent needed stronger domestic financing mechanisms to reduce its dependence on external capital.
According to him, predictable regulations, bankable contracts and access to long-term financing would be essential to unlocking investment and preventing commercially viable resources from remaining undeveloped.
Ayuk cited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as an example of how large-scale investment in domestic energy infrastructure could strengthen supply security and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
He said the refinery had helped address petroleum-product supply constraints in Africa and had also created opportunities for exports to international markets, including Europe.
The AEC chairman argued that the project demonstrated the importance of developing domestic refining capacity and processing natural resources locally rather than relying predominantly on imported finished products.
He urged African countries to adopt a similar approach to value addition across their energy industries, saying local processing could support industrialisation, improve supply resilience and create employment.
Ayuk also called for greater cooperation between African countries and other members of the Global South, specifically expressing support for Venezuela’s efforts to develop its petroleum resources despite external economic restrictions.
He urged African investors to explore opportunities in Venezuela, arguing that developing countries could benefit from stronger energy partnerships and investment cooperation.
He also encouraged African businesses and investors to engage with Grenada, which he said was seeking strategic partnerships to develop its offshore energy potential.
Beyond energy development, Ayuk condemned xenophobia and hostility towards foreign nationals, particularly in South Africa, describing such incidents as inconsistent with the spirit of African integration and economic cooperation.
He endorsed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s opposition to xenophobia and Afrophobia, stressing that the energy industry depended on collaboration among workers, investors, engineers and businesses from different countries.
Ayuk said pipelines, power grids and other energy infrastructure linked economies across borders, making regional cooperation essential to the continent’s development.
He also warned African governments against resource nationalism that could discourage investment through unpredictable regulatory changes, retroactive compliance requirements and excessive state equity demands.
While acknowledging the importance of local content and ensuring that host countries benefit from their natural resources, he said such policies needed to be implemented in ways that did not undermine investor confidence or make projects commercially unviable.
“Isolation is economic suicide,” he said, arguing that African countries needed international partnerships, predictable fiscal regimes and stable contractual arrangements to attract the capital required to develop their resources.
Ayuk urged governments to reduce bureaucratic delays, honour contractual commitments and accelerate approvals for viable energy projects.
He said public officials should be judged by the results they delivered and the investments they enabled, rather than by the number of projects delayed by administrative obstacles.
The AEC chairman maintained that Africa had the natural resources, workforce and investment opportunities required to expand its energy sector, but stressed that governments must create the conditions for those advantages to translate into economic growth.
He called for a development strategy that combines energy security, infrastructure investment, access to capital and regional cooperation, arguing that Africa should be able to determine how best to utilise its resources to meet its economic and social needs.