Africa Oil Week: gas, the energy transition and new exploration

Africa Oil Week wrapped in Cape Town on Friday with lots of talk about gas, the energy transition and new exploration after hundreds of representatives from governments and the private sector in Africa gathered to discuss investing in African energy.

The conference was opened by South Africa’s minister of mineral and petroleum resources, Gwede Mantashe, on ways to drive investment, foster partnerships and leverage Africa’s abundant oil and gas resources to directly benefit its people.

Officials and government ministers from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone, attended.

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Appeal for investors in SA’s oil and gas reserves

Mantashe made a direct appeal to investors at the conference to invest in the country’s mineral deposits. He emphasised the significant untapped potential of South Africa’s oil and gas reserves, urging investors to look beyond the global shift towards renewables and recognise the lucrative opportunities at hand.

He also expressed strong confidence in South Africa’s own offshore oil and gas reserves, particularly regarding promising discoveries in neighbouring Namibia. “The discoveries of gas and condensate at two exploration wells drilled in the South Outeniqua Basin have also proven that South Africa’s under-explored deep waters have significant potential for oil and gas. We are keen to see drilling happening here in South Africa.”

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Mantashe slams ‘unabated and frivolous litigation’ against oil and gas exploration

However, Mantashe condemned what he called “unabated and frivolous litigation” against oil and gas exploration by foreign-funded groups, arguing that it creates a climate of uncertainty and discourages investment. “These NGOs must declare their source of funding because they are funded to block development.

“They block development and hide behind protecting the environment,” he said on the sidelines of the conference. “Shell was harassed out of the seismic survey in the East Coast and left. They went to Namibia, made huge discoveries of oil next door, and there was no demonstration there. That discovery is generating an income for Namibia. We cannot touch our oil and gas.”

On the last day of the gathering, the Transnet Ports Authority outlined its plans to develop and operate a liquefied gas terminal at the port of Richards Bay. The proposed liquified natural gas LNG terminal is planned to provide the South African market with an LNG import solution to help enhance the country’s energy security, accelerate its decarbonisation journey and begin commercial operation in 2028.

Another announcement this week saw Transnet Pipelines announce a plant to repurpose its Lily pipeline infrastructure to transport liquified natural gas from the coast to South Africa’s major inland markets.

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New energy mix holds massive advantages for people of Southern Africa

The message on the final day of the conference was that a new energy mix with a high renewables component would hold massive advantages for the people of Southern Africa. The discussion centred on how the narrative around Africa’s energy future is no longer one of scarcity, as a mosaic of established and emerging players now contribute to the continent’s rapidly evolving energy mix.

A panel dedicated to mapping Africa’s energy future discussed the enormous potential of variable renewable energy (VRE) in South Africa, noting that the country is blessed with significant solar and wind resources, making a transition to 100% renewable energy a real, practical possibility.

Speakers also noted that renewables are now extremely affordable, often outcompeting fossil fuels in many scenarios, and that with 150GW of new renewables projects in the pipeline, the new energy dispensation would be transformative for the country.

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Challenges for energy transition

However, there are challenges, such as outdated regulations and licensing procedures that often hinder the rapid deployment of renewables and microgrids. There was also a need to invest in a robust and geographically diversified transmission grid to harness the full potential of VRE, the speakers emphasised

“One of the bigger questions we face, as we start to unbundle the monopoly utility, is how do we ensure that a new transmission system operator actually plays the right role,” Happy Khambule, director of energy and environment policy at Business Unity South Africa, said.

Overall, the panel painted an optimistic picture of the future of renewable energy in South Africa. All panellists were confident of the prospects for reaching 90-100% renewables within a matter of

The conference heard earlier that around 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lacked access to electricity.  The panel agreed that recent advances in the cost-competitiveness of renewables offer a chance to materially address this injustice.

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Major licencing rounds announced for new exploration

Three African regions announced major licensing rounds on the main stage of the conference, stimulating significant investor interest on the sidelines of the event. Liberia, Tanzania and Zanzibar all outlined bidding rounds for the licensing of new blocks for oil and gas exploration, inviting bids from upstream stakeholders.

The next Africa Oil Week conference will be held in Ghana in September 2025.