(Ecofin Agency) – In a global context where natural gas is accepted as a transition energy towards phasing out fossil fuels, African gas is increasingly attracting investors.
According to a projection from Wood Mackenzie, the global provider of data and analysis for the energy industry, delivered during a webinar held on Thursday, May 30, unexploited gas assets will mobilize 53% of future investments.
For example, Mozambique’s Rovuma LNG project, for which a final investment decision is expected by the end of 2025, will alone absorb 35% of these investment expenses. Which, for Wood Mackenzie, will make this country a leading destination for gas exploitation in Africa by 2027.
Mozambique will not be the only target of this investor enthusiasm. Indeed, Wood Mackenzie notes that Namibia and Libya are also expected to attract significant investment in their respective gas sectors by the end of the 2020 decade.
This, even if countries like Angola, Egypt, Algeria, and especially Nigeria, with the operationalization of the Kwale gas collection and injection unit in Delta State, which will see its production capacity increase by 300 million cubic feet, are leading in projected oil and gas spending.
If Wood Mackenzie anticipates a sustained enthusiasm for unexploited gas in these countries, it is because “investors are looking for projects [gaziers, Ndlr] with shorter payback periods and higher returns on investment ».
However, African natural gas, according to Martijn Murphy, principal analyst for North Africa at Wood Mackenzie, is ” in full growth “, offers interesting monetization opportunities for companies China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) which has increased its investments in upstream since 2020 or for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
Overall, Wood Mackenzie’s position on the potential of the oil and gas market has not changed. Two years ago, its experts had already projected that Africa would have a major role to play in the evolution of the global energy market.
Abdel-Latif Boureima
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