According to NJ Ayuk, President of the African Energy Chamber, due to recent discoveries of vast natural gas reserves, Africa has the potential to create a prosperous energy sector that will enrich the continent for generations to come.

However, it is not a guarantee of the opportunities it presents for future prosperity. Africa’s resources have traditionally been exported to wealthier countries, enriching other lands while providing few benefits to economies on the continent. But if African entrepreneurs make the right decisions, they have the potential to use remaining natural gas reserves to create jobs, build reliable energy grids and fundamentally transform the lives of millions of Africans, Aiyuk said.

how does this work

As an example of how energy entrepreneurs can fuel African economies, Ayuk pointed to a recent deal struck by African company AlphaDen to build a hydrocarbon processing plant in Nigeria.

“I think energy will always be a big issue. If you look at the AlphaDen deal, it is US$60 million. “It tells you that a lot of the things that happen with natural gas haven’t actually happened on the continent,” he said. “And to really be able to empower African entrepreneurs, small-scale producers, to be able to run small-scale biogas projects… First of all, this is not just gas testing for Europe or Asia. This is the gas that will be used for industrialization in Nigeria.

Using loans from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), AlphaDen was entirely dependent on domestic resources. The move was not only financially sound, Aiyuk said, but it was also a challenge for other businesses to follow his lead.

“What’s even more beautiful is that African entrepreneurs are engaged in doing this and driving it forward,” he said. “In the past, we had to wait for someone to come from the United States or Europe to do this kind of project here. But now you have Africans who have gained experience either from their work with international energy companies, or from their work with other types of institutions, being able to say, ‘We’re not going to be just consumers, we Going to be productive.

Using natural gas to build a better Africa

Natural gas is a mixture of fossil fuels that can be burned to generate electricity. It is a relatively clean-burning source of energy, Ayuk said, making it an ideal step to help Africa prepare for the eventual transition to renewable sources of energy.

“I think we have to use our natural resources in a better judicious manner. I believe we have to come into this with the idea of ​​the state first, knowing that these are limited resources. They are not coming back,” he said. “And once you get it into your mind that these are finite resources and they’re not going to come back, you have to start realizing that we have to be better stewards of what we use.”

African entrepreneurs need to not only rethink their relationship with fossil fuels, but also reevaluate the deals that have hindered economic growth in the past.

“We have to move away from the issues we have been victims of, which have led to a crisis in resources. And these resource crises have not really been helpful to Africa,” Aiyuk said. “So, we need to reverse the resource costs. And, when we are using those natural resources, we have to say, ‘How can we create value chains within Africa and add value and actually make it run?’

using gas to generate growth

Africa is home to some of the world’s largest energy deserts. Nearly 600 million African people live without access to electricity. Domestic natural gas companies have a duty to help solve that problem by creating jobs and building infrastructure, Ayuk said.

“For example, right now, if you look at a country like Namibia with huge oil and gas discoveries, it’s not just going to be about Namibia producing natural gas and producing oil and sending it abroad for other things. Should,” he said. “They have to say, ‘How can we build more gas power projects and gas power projects with pipelines and other things, so that we can give electricity to Namibia? And to supply Namibia with goods, services and other things throughout Africa. Make an industrial center.

If countries like Namibia build reliable electricity grids, they can start working with neighboring states to provide more opportunities, thereby boosting growth domestically, Ayuk said.

“Along with African solutions, we also need to start looking at how you can actually start generating electricity from biogas and all that. And I think this is possible only within Africa. And when it comes to actually moving energy forward, we need to scale up the supply chain basic infrastructure All across Africa,” he said. “Once we do that, it will be easy for us to start deploying energy across state borders, cross-border, inside the country. And so, that will be helpful.”

From there, the possibilities are limitless. Ayuk said, once Africans have reliable access to electricity and stable employment opportunities in the energy sector, a world of possibilities will open up.

“There are going to be a lot of big gas projects that are going to come from African entrepreneurs, and that will really propel the continent forward,” he said.

Source: bmmagazine.co.uk