Natural gas has a vital role to play in the energy mix that the continent needs to meet its current and growing energy needs.
It would be an understatement to say that Tanzania’s Songo Songo gas field has been beneficial to the country and its citizens. Since 2004, the project’s production has been put to the service of the Tanzanian economy, its domestic energy supply, energy costs, employment and the environment.
With wells and a processing plant on Songo Songo Island, the public/private effort prioritizes national needs, using production to power the Ubungo gas-fired power plant, as well as a large corporation cement plant and a village electrification program. Surplus gas is sold to industrial customers across a range of sectors.
Songo Songo’s production now generates about 45% of Tanzania’s electricity, reducing the need to import fuels at higher prices. Another important advantage? When the country’s supply of hydroelectric power declines due to drought, gas production from electricity can be used to make up the shortfall.
The project created 190 direct jobs and created 113,809 others.
It also significantly reduces carbon emissions (at the Tanzania Portland Cement Company alone, CO2 emissions have been reduced by around 80,000 tonnes per year) and provides a cleaner source of energy for power plants in Dar es Salaam by replacing diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO).
This project is just one example of what natural gas can do to boost African economies, the workforce, energy supplies and the health of the environment and people.
Because of its great potential to replicate success stories like this across the continent, I remain convinced that natural gas is the key to a prosperous future and a just energy transition for Africa.
As world leaders gather for COP28 and discussions focus on zero emissions targets and renewable energy, I would like to respectfully emphasize that natural gas is a clean energy. In our rush to meet our climate goals, we must not overlook the immense benefits that gas can bring.
Natural gas and gas products are clean and help meet emissions targets
We have already seen the positive impact of natural gas in other parts of the world. In America, for example, natural gas is used more than any other fuel for residential and industrial electricity generation, as a feedstock for the production of petrochemicals and fertilizers, and as the fuel of choice for the production of electricity. The United States uses about a third of the world’s natural gas, and demand continues to grow.
There are good reasons for this, starting with the fact that natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel. It emits 50-60% less carbon dioxide than coal when burned and up to 30% less CO2 than crude oil.
If natural gas is a good option for rich countries like America, why can’t developing countries enjoy the same benefits?
Gas can provide clean, readily available energy to sub-Saharan African countries as their renewable energy infrastructure and technology “catch up” with those of rich, highly industrialized countries. And when renewable energy sources like solar and wind are intermittent (on cloudy days or when the air is still), gas can fill the gap.
Natural gas is needed domestically to fight energy poverty
Rich countries should not be trying to set deadlines for Africa’s transition to renewable energy, but that is what is happening. Organizations such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank are pressuring Africa to quickly transition away from fossil fuels. Even African lobbyists in Kenya are calling for a 30-year phase-out.
African governments and energy sector players must respond.
Investors who know Africa understand the difficulties that accompany the lack of electricity suffered by more than two thirds, or more than 620 million, of sub-Saharan Africans. These investors should stay the course rather than distance themselves from African fossil fuels.
As I noted in my 2019 book, “Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals,” the lack of electricity is more than an inconvenience. It deprives people of modern health care and exposes them to toxins from primitive fuels in their homes. It prevents progress in all economic sectors, whether commerce, industry or education.
The situation is dire and is expected to get worse due to projected population growth. People need electricity now, and fossil fuels can provide it much faster, while green energy continues to evolve and become more widespread.
Natural gas has a vital role to play in the energy mix that the continent needs to meet its current and growing energy needs. Let’s make ending energy poverty a higher priority than adhering to an arbitrary, one-size-fits-all transition timetable.
Natural gas monetization can finance energy transitions
A just energy transition for Africa requires the use of our oil and gas resources as part of the process. The transition to renewable energy has begun, and more is to come. In the meantime, however, Africa needs gas production for electricity and monetization of its oil and gas resources. Capital from these resources can gradually finance the infrastructure and development needed for the transition to renewable energy.
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Achieving energy transition goals will require a significant influx of investment capital into African economies. For example, for Nigeria to meet the targets of its Energy Transition Plan (ETP), it will need approximately USD 410 billion by 2060. Overall,
Africa has no shortage of reserves of natural gas. According to recent statistics from an investment platform, they amount to 800,000 billion cubic feet, distributed among almost half of African countries.
What is urgently needed are strategies to attract investment, extracting this gas from its underground and underwater reservoirs, transporting it and storing it. Local content will always play an important role in this process.
There is also a need to be creative in finding solutions to insufficient production, transport and storage infrastructure, for example by building small, modular LNG plants and using compressed natural gas (CNG) which reduces methane to less than 1% of its normal volume for transport and storage.
To conclude, I will repeat an essential point: Natural gas is increasingly in demand around the world. This is an opportunity that Africa must seize now. We must monetize our natural gas resources for the sake of our economies, the health of our residents and to develop green energy initiatives at a pace that is good for Africa. This is the message I will share at COP28 and in the future.