Africa will benefit from an investment of over €35 billion, channeled into oil and gas exploration, by 2026. This is one of the main conclusions of the report.Perspectives on the State of Energy in Africa in 2026".

The report, prepared by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) in conjunction with Standard & Poor's Global Commodity Insights, provides a strategic overview of the trends, opportunities and challenges in the African energy sector and will be presented at Africa Energy Week in Cape Town.

According to the report, energy demand on the continent is expected to quadruple, a growth that requires massive investment in the sector, including more than €17 billion in refining infrastructure by 2050 to meet the increase in domestic consumption.

“Global spending on exploration and production investments is expected to reach $504 billion (€432 billion) by 2026.”

“Africa will contribute around 41 billion dollars (35 billion euros)”.

“The highlight for spending goes to offshore prospecting in Mozambique, Angola and Nigeria”.

This is what is read in the presentation of the report that will be released at the African Energy Week (AEW) which will begin next Monday, September 29, 2025, in Cape Town.

In the report's introductory text, the authors explained that African energy demand is expected to quadruple and investments in the energy sector will reach $54 billion (€46 billion) by 2030. Oil production on the continent is expected to reach 11,4 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2026, with Nigeria topping the list.

In addition to exploration data, the report also analyzes the consumer side, predicting that African demand for refined products will rise from around four million barrels per day in 2024 to more than six million barrels per day by 2050, representing a 50% increase.

While lamenting that African countries sell crude oil and then buy or import refined products, the AEC highlights in the report that there are considerable opportunities to improve the effectiveness of these activities and increase their value to Africa.

The organization points out that more than $20 billion (€17 billion) in downstream infrastructure investments are needed by 2050 to meet the growing import and distribution needs of refined products.

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Regarding gas production, seen as a transitional energy source for renewables, the report states that Africa's gas potential is considerable, supported by a series of exploration successes in existing production centers and border areas.

In 2024, Africa produced more than 300 billion cubic meters of natural gas, representing 8,5% of the world's supply of liquefied natural gas, or LNG (34,7 million tons), in a context in which natural gas is expected to represent 45% of total electricity production by 2050.

Regarding electricity and renewables on the continent, the document states that this year electricity demand is expected to increase from around 1028 TWh [Terawatt-hours] to 2291 TWh by 2050, thus demonstrating Africa's commitment to the energy transition.

The continent is undergoing a major transition to renewable energy sources, with around 25 Gigawatts (GW) of capacity purchased by governments in 2024 and, in addition, around 11 GW obtained through private purchase agreements.