Africa is sitting on roughly 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and around 7–8% of the world’s proven natural gas reserves. Countries including Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Mozambique and Egypt hold some of the continent’s biggest deposits. Yet across much of Africa, having energy resources has not translated into having enough reliable energy. That is the contradiction at the centre of the continent’s energy story.
The problem is that reserves in the ground are not the same thing as electricity, fuel or industrial capacity. Oil and gas need investment, infrastructure, processing facilities, pipelines, refineries and reliable markets before they can generate broad economic value. Many African countries still export crude or gas while importing refined petroleum products and other energy-intensive goods. The continent can therefore be resource-rich and energy-poor at the same time.
Read Also: Why Is Africa Installing 100,000 Solar Panels Every Day?
There is also a financing problem. Developing oil and gas fields requires billions of dollars, while investors increasingly face pressure around emissions, policy uncertainty and long project timelines. At the same time, Africa needs far more energy to industrialise. Its growing population and economies require electricity for factories, transport, mining, agriculture and digital infrastructure. The question is no longer simply how much oil or gas Africa has, but whether it can attract the capital needed to turn those reserves into productive energy.
That does not mean Africa has to choose between hydrocarbons and renewables. Its energy system is likely to require both. Gas can provide electricity and industrial feedstock while renewable power expands across a continent with enormous solar, wind, hydro and geothermal potential. The bigger opportunity is using all of those resources to build things in Africa rather than simply exporting raw materials and buying finished products back from the world.
