Africa needs to develop its nascent gas market by investing in its entire energy value chain and building an integrated energy system that will guarantee energy security in the face of looming electricity shortages, experts said on Thursday.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the ongoing Africa Energy Week (AEW) 2022 conference in Cape Town, the experts noted that liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the least atmospheric-offensive energy resources compared to other resources available in Africa as well as the most efficient when it comes to electricity generation.
“Most of the power generation in Africa currently is thermal, and gas is the fuel of choice,” Ghana Gas chief executive Ben Asante said.
He noted that while the cost of generating 1,000 megawatts of electricity using oil is around US$70 million, “with gas the bill is now half, meaning gas is cheap.”
He added: “In terms of carbon emissions, with oil we used to emit 8.3 million tonnes of carbon. But now with LNG, we are only emitting 1.2 million tonnes.”
Renergen executive director Nick Mitchell, however, said funding was one of the biggest challenges facing Africa’s plans to leverage its vast LNG potential.
“Only 33 percent of the continent’s proven resources are economically recoverable. Hence, Africa needs to develop local markets and invest in its entire energy value chain and build an integrated energy system,” Mitchell said.
The experts revealed that at least 85 percent of the LNG produced in Africa is exported due to the lack of infrastructure to transport gas across Africa.
Africa has abundant oil and gas reserves, with the continent reported to have 148.6 trillion cubic metres of proven gas reserves as of 2017 — more than seven percent of the global reserves.
The bulk of the gas is exported to the European Union, which imported about 108 billion cubic meters of LNG from Africa in 2019, over 12 billion cubic metres of which came from Nigeria, according to reports.
There is, therefore, need to Africa develop a vibrant gas market that would ensure that the LNG is leveraged in Africa to address continental energy challenges.
The annual AEW conference is taking place at a time many African countries are experiencing rolling power cuts due to aging infrastructure. These include South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
JN/APA