GAS WILL BE THE WINNER IN AFRICA'S ENERGY FUTURE.

Source: Energy Newspaper

Speaking at Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, Thom told delegates that the 20-year investment cycle that began in 2010 will culminate by the end of the decade with world-scale LNG projects in Mozambique and floating LNG (FLNG) in five countries. Africa is already a leader in floating LNG, with more than 50% of global capacity, and there is scope for more projects to emerge.

With abundant gas resources, Africa is exploring every opportunity to develop gas for domestic and export markets, Thom said. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has gained ground in Africa because of its flexibility, rapid commercialisation and suitability for smaller volumes. We are seeing more examples where FLNG could be applied to African resources, and we expect more to come in this growth story. Thom added that current LNG exports from Africa are just over 40 million tonnes per annum (mmtpa) and there are several LNG projects in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that are at various stages of development.

These include BP's Tortue FLNG off the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania, which is due to come online next year. With the global trend to focus on the most profitable resources, it is inevitable that oil production will suffer in the most expensive and highest-emission African fields, says Thom. However, growing reserves or undiscovered resources may still provide some upside.

TotalEnergies’ recent discovery in Ntokon, Nigeria, is a good example of how new oil discoveries drive growth. And the exploration success in Namibia underlines how deepwater exploration can create great investment opportunities.