Europe Cooperating in the Energy Sector with Africa

South African based African Energy Chamber (AEC) has been leading steadily transformation of the energy sector in Africa. Since its historic African Energy Week, considered to be one of the world’s largest and continental energy gathering, the AEC has moved with its search for external partnership and cooperation to the United States and Europe.

The Invest in African Energy Paris edition aims to build on existing Africa-Europe relations to usher in a new era of energy-related growth and prosperity. By showcasing projects, investment prospects and collaboration opportunities, the event positioned Africa as the destination of choice for both French and European investment.

At the latest Westin Paris Vendome, the groundbreaking forum served as a catalyst for amplifying European investments in African energy projects, while simultaneously forging new bilateral connections to fortify a thriving partnership between the two regions – Africa and Europe.

France has become a prominent financial ally to Africa at a national level, offering funding for numerous energy projects in partnership with other European investors. Europe has contributed to the continent significantly, including a €6-million grant to the African Development Bank for the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative in 2016.

It granted €300 million in concessional financing to South Africa through loan agreements in 2022, and an investment fund of $92.63 million established in the same year to support solar power generation throughout Africa, among other financial packages.

Participated were energy stalwarts, high-profiled speakers including Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Namibia; Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Congo; Didier Budimbu Ntubuanga, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of Congo; NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC; Per Magnus Nysveen, Senior Partner & Chief Analyst, Rystad Energy; Benoît de la Fouchardière, CEO, Perenco and Eric Melet, CEO Rail & Logistics Solutions, Africa Global Logistics.

These leading efforts primarily aimed at reviewing and discussing aspects of exploration, collaboration and utilization of Africa’s energy resources in scaling up energy security, and secondly to drastically reduce energy imports and its role in driving socioeconomic growth across Africa.

In the United States and Europe, it has created the platform for energy ministers, energy policymakers and leading renewable energy companies and potential investors interested in shaping discussions to find pragmatic approach around the key role the continent’s massive yet largely unexplored hydrocarbon resources that could trigger socioeconomic growth in the continent.

“It is really important that we move to drive deals, approve projects, create opportunities and drive investment. We have got to move big on the fiscal and getting deals done,” NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC, said during the opening ceremony. “At the chamber, we are committed to supporting these partnerships, and initiatives recognizing that energy will be a springboard for economic growth and expansion.”

Talking about Congo’s progress regarding gas monetization, Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua emphasized the huge amount of gas in Africa, specifically in Congo. “We want to produce gas and use the gas we have. In Q4 2023, we could have the first exportation of liquefied natural gas – 600,000 tons per year – and that will reach 3 million tons per year by 2025.”

He noted that an institutional framework to give incentives to oil companies was on the cards. “We will have a gas code which will be implemented at the end of the year with the help of the World Bank, we will launch a promotion campaign for gas soon. Gas is the best transition energy.”

Congolese Minister Didier Budimbu Ntubuanga pointed to the great potential for hydrocarbons in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). DRC called for tenders for the three gas blocks in Lake Kivu. The potential in the DRC is approximately 22 billion barrels of oil, and there is ongoing work relating to legal incentives to attract foreign investment.

As the continent moves to unlock the full potential of its oil and gas resources, European players with their expertise and resources, have an increasingly important role to play in financing and developing Africa’s hydrocarbons.

According to Minister of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Namibia, Tom Alweendo, the forthcoming 16-20 October energy conference would offer an insight into investing in Africa. Despite external shocks, Africa’s energy landscape is still on the path towards rapid transformation, with continental players pursuing an energy transition.

The energy transition in Africa involves everything including foreign investment in oil and gas sector. As Africa’s energy sector expands, the role the logistics industry plays has become increasingly important. On this note, Eric Melet, CEO Rail & Logistics Solutions, Africa Global Logistics, explained that logistics has a role to play to support the change of energy availability in Africa.

Africa Global Logistics supports the continent by providing tailor-made logistics across the industry, improving connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world, and contributing to create a virtual logistics ecosystem.

With these introductory speeches, the forum officially kicked off, serving as a bridge to connecting European players with African counterparts. That however, Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons finally signed a cooperation agreement with French energy services provider Technip Energies during the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris.

As per the terms of the agreement, Technip Energies will provide its expertise to strengthen both the Ministry’s and the national oil company’s capacities regarding energy transition principles, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), zero carbon energy solutions, and decarbonization.

More specifically, the deal covers areas such as process engineering (including oil and water treatment facilities and gas processing facilities); offshore and onshore platforms and installations (including semi-submersible rigs, LNG trains, fertilizer plants and refineries) and conception development for an offshore oil and gas field (including technical studies, cost estimation and economic analysis, engineering, execution and management of an floating production, storage and offloading unit and floating LNG).

Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy together with French tertiary institution Sciences Po, on the sidelines of the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris,  held discussions on efforts to advance academic cooperation across the energy sector. Both signed agreement to bolster capacity building in the energy sphere.

It also aims at scaling up the workforce on the back of partnerships, emphasis on the training of energy sector-related personnel. The agreement covers opportunities for establishing a formal partnership to enable student exchange as well as high level workforce training and on-the-ground experience.

During the concluding session, the forum summary was focused on financing African energy projects; developing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for both African and European markets; and the role renewable energy and green hydrogen will continue to play in industrializing and electrifying Africa.

The Paris forum was the latest this June. Similar energy platform was organized in London, Oslo, Frankfurt and Dubai. AEW 2023 is the African Energy Chamber’s annual energy event. This year’s edition takes place in Cape Town from October 16-20 under the theme, ‘The African Energy Renaissance: Prioritizing energy poverty, people, the planet, industrialization and free market.’