Ghana expects to stop procuring liquid fuels for power generation next year, John Jinapor, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, said during a Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)-hosted strategic session at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town. Ghana has already cut its liquid fuel purchases for electricity from eight cargoes to two, he said, as domestic gas and imports from Nigeria replace diesel and heavy fuel oil in thermal plants.
Ghana’s gas policy prioritizes domestic processing, with gas directed first to power generation and then to industry, Jinapor said. The switch from liquid fuels saved Ghana about $500 million in a single year through import substitution, at a time when electricity demand is growing about 10% annually. Nigeria supplies Ghana through the West African Gas Pipeline, and he said Ghana expects to double those volumes under its current agreements. Ghana is also building a 278 km pipeline to link its main power centers, and is using a levy on pump fuel to fund LPG adoption, targeting 50% penetration within three years.
Senegal, which began exporting LNG in 2025, is working to balance exports with supply to its own economy. El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf, Minister of Energy and Petroleum, said companies often prioritize export markets, leaving governments to secure domestic supply. Senegal is targeting domestic gas supply of around 150 million standard cubic feet per day by 2030, delivered through a national gas network to power plants across the country. Diouf said the network’s pipeline, which has faced delays, is expected within nine months.
Philip Mshelbila, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), called the choice between exports and domestic use “a false choice.” In his address, he said: “Exports mobilize capital, revenue and investment confidence. Domestic utilization is the development multiplier.” The GECF’s Global Gas Outlook projects African gas demand will more than double, from 175 billion cubic meters in 2024 to about 374 billion cubic meters by 2055.
Panel moderator Oliver Onyekweli, Partner at McKinsey & Company, noted that only around 3% of gas commercialized in Africa is traded within the continent. Mshelbila said regional cooperation, gas storage and cross-border infrastructure will determine how resilient African markets are to future supply disruptions. He cited the Senegal-Mauritania Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project as a model.
NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, described gas as a “Swiss knife” for African development, with uses spanning power generation, petrochemicals and fertilizers. “We are a gas continent before an oil continent,” he asserted.
Ghana’s gas master plan, currently under review, sets a 15-year blueprint for the country’s gas infrastructure and budgeting.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.