KEY CONCLUSIONS
Africa has great
investment potential in the energy sector
«At present, African countries have 14.4 trillion
cubic metres of natural gas reserves. This is a very large amount [...]. The share of natural gas
produced by African countries in the total volume of commercial gas production
around the world will increase and exceed 10.4% by 2050», said Yury Sentyurin,
Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
«Africa is a place that offers a great return on
investment. And I think that Russia needs to take the bull by the horns and
understand the market. You have already made an effort in this direction.
Perhaps within 1015
years we will be able to achieve global dominance», said Wale Tinubu, Group
Chief Executive of Oando PLC.
«If we join efforts, including in terms of cooperation
between Russia and Africa, we will come out on top. We will all have a larger
market on which competing technologies will emerge. This all ties our interests
together, and if we share these views, we will be successful [...]. Our combined efforts
will create a different future not only for us, but for lots of people. And for
me there is a great hope and desire that we should take Africa seriously for
the next 100 years», said Pavel Sorokin, Deputy Minister of Energy of the
Russian Federation.
Russian energy
companies are actively developing cooperation in Africa
«Transneft has had success in coming to work on the
African continent. Our first projects took place in Algeria with the Algerian
state oil and gas company Sonatrach. We are now working on several projects in
Algeria [...].
We are ready to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Moroccan oil and gas
company ONHYM [...].
We want this to be a long-term, mutually beneficial,
and high-tech partnership», Transneft Vice President Mikhail Margelov said.
«There are many areas where Africa and Russia can
cooperate. Morocco, in particular, has extensive experience working with
Russia: power plants have been built. There are currently Russian companies in
Morocco that work in the energy sector and believe that there are good
prospects», said Aziz Rabbah, Minister of Energy, Mines and Environment of the
Kingdom of Morocco.
PROBLEMS
Lack of funding
and technology
«The only problem we have is the investment that we
need. We do not have the infrastructure to receive gas [...]. We have everything, but
no gas. We need terminals, just like Morocco, South Africa, and Egypt do», said
Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of the Republic
of Equatorial Guinea.
«Funding is a critical factor in the implementation of
a project in Africa. What if I dont want to send gas to Western Europe, but to
my brothers in Africa [...].
But there is not enough infrastructure or ports. Sure, there is Cape Town and
certain points where this can be obtained. But this requires funding», Tinubu
said.
«Today, there are two main and key issues that need to
be addressed for African countries in order to increase work related to natural
gas: access to high technologies and access to investment [...]. Thanks to new
technologies and investments, the contribution that African countries make to
working with natural gas will increase significantly», Sentyurin said.
Lack of access to
energy for a substantial part of the African population
«In Africa, there are more than 600 million people who
still do not have any access to any type of energy. Were sitting on a ticking
time bomb», said Bronwyn Nielsen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of
Nielsen Media and Associates and Editor-in-Chief of CNBC Africa (20132017).
SOLUTIONS
Intensify
international cooperation
«Russia is bringing what we need [...]. Russia has technology
thats what we lack, thats what we need from Russia [...]. Why do we need
technology? Creating jobs will become a solution for Africa because we want to
develop the economy for ourselves using resources», Lima said.
Create clear and
stable conditions for investors
«We need to create a platform for successful
cooperation with the private sector. A policy has been instituted in order for
the rules to be defined. How should the government behave? A partnership is
needed here. There will be a partnership if the rules of the game are clear. If
the natural resources policy is understandable and the rules are clear, you
will see competition and partnership projects at the national level», said
Onajite Paul Okoloko, Group Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director
of Notore Chemical Industries Plc.
Pay attention to
environmental issues
«Environmental stability issues are extremely
important for us. We pay attention to the green agenda. From the standpoint of
traditional energy companies, we understand this perfectly. You have to pay
increased attention to the environment. Our company has been running a
programme for several years to reduce the specific emission of pollutants into
the atmosphere. According to the 2018 results, we reduced these emissions by
another 1%», Margelov said.
«Several African countries are now switching to the
use of renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar. Russia is very
developed in this regard. This cannot be ignored, either», Rabbah said.
For more
information, visit the Roscongress Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org.