Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani visit BP’s Grand Tortue Ahmeyim platform
African gas emerges from oil’s shadow
Producing, developing and harnessing gas across the continent is now a priority, but monetising and maximising the resource remains a challenge
African’s gas industry is full of dichotomies that are finally being resolved: oil versus gas, gas-to-power versus LNG, new exploration versus mature fields. An obsession with oil exploration had belied the fact that gas made up 75% of the hydrocarbons discovered since 2010. From being oil’s baby brother, gas is now all grown up and must stand on its own two feet. From all the 76b boe discovered over the past 15 years, some 57b boe has been the gaseous variety. And the gas outlook is upbeat as production is likely to continue gradually increasing from around 4m boe/d and has the potential to double over the next ten years. African hydrocarbon production will be supported in the midterm by re
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
