Letter from Paris: Africa eyes future fuelled by oil and gas
A recent industry forum highlights how developing nations see hydrocarbons very differently from some in the West
The mood at the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris at the start of June was broadly both defiant and optimistic. On stage and on the sidelines, African oil ministers, NOC officials and private sector executives all continued to emphasise the disparity between the continent’s still-vast hydrocarbon resources and regional energy poverty, and criticised Western environmentalists for their opposition to new oil and gas developments in Africa. Ugandan lawyer Elison Karuhanga, a partner at Kampala Associated Advocates, was passionate and eloquent in his defence of Africa being allowed to develop its hydrocarbon resources. Karuhanga emphasises that 600mn Africans lack access to electricity, wh
Also in this section
24 March 2026
It is an unusual story of out with the new and in with the old, as America First Refining shows the US going back to trusted energy security developments
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system






