Germany and Africa forge energy ties
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news article
Germany is keen to ditch Russian oil and gas for good and find new sources of energy, while Africa has abundant fuel reserves. The German-Africa Energy Forum is helping delegates develop mutually beneficial partnerships.
One of the big topics of conversation at the 2022 German-Africa Energy Forum in Hamburg was Africa's abundant reserves of oil and gas.
In 2017, the African continent reportedly had 148.6 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves — more than 7% of the global reserves.
In 2019, Nigeria led crude oil exports in Africa, with more than 2 million barrels per day of oil sold on the international market.
In the same year, Africa's overall oil and gas production reached 327.3 million metric tons.
As of 2020, Africa's contribution to global oil exports reached nearly 9%.
Alternative to Russian energy
With a sixth package of EU sanctions targeting Russian oil now in force, Germany is keen to ditch Russian oil and gas for good and is looking at African gas as alternative.
The June 1–2 Hamburg meeting was an opportunity for key players in the German and African energy sectors to create win-win partnerships.
Many German companies are keen to finance African initiatives to produce hydrogen energy for export to Europe.
And African nations are also keen to power up using gas. They see it as a transitional fuel because natural gas produces lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels like oil and coal.
Exporting gas to Europe
Gas shouldn't be overlooked, said Ndiarka Mbodji, the CEO of a Berlin-based company providing energy solutions to Africa.
"You can see at the moment, with the Ukraine war that we are going through that the need to diversify the source of energy," Mbodji told DW. "
And if we look at the resource that Africa has in terms of, for example, gas, which is a source of transition, we can see its importance in Africa."
The forum came on the heels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Africa last month where he signed deals to support the necessary infrastructure to extract and export oil and gas to Europe.
Energy development projects are capital-intensive and require private-public partnerships, according to Ethiopia's energy minister, Sultan Wali.
"African governments cannot carry out these projects alone," Wali said.
"They need financial support from Germany and other rich western countries. This forum will create a strong ground for everyone." READ FURTHER FROM THE SOURCE
One of the big topics of conversation at the 2022 German-Africa Energy Forum in Hamburg was Africa's abundant reserves of oil and gas.
In 2017, the African continent reportedly had 148.6 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves — more than 7% of the global reserves.
In 2019, Nigeria led crude oil exports in Africa, with more than 2 million barrels per day of oil sold on the international market.
In the same year, Africa's overall oil and gas production reached 327.3 million metric tons.
As of 2020, Africa's contribution to global oil exports reached nearly 9%.
Alternative to Russian energy
With a sixth package of EU sanctions targeting Russian oil now in force, Germany is keen to ditch Russian oil and gas for good and is looking at African gas as alternative.
The June 1–2 Hamburg meeting was an opportunity for key players in the German and African energy sectors to create win-win partnerships.
Many German companies are keen to finance African initiatives to produce hydrogen energy for export to Europe.
And African nations are also keen to power up using gas. They see it as a transitional fuel because natural gas produces lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels like oil and coal.
Exporting gas to Europe
Gas shouldn't be overlooked, said Ndiarka Mbodji, the CEO of a Berlin-based company providing energy solutions to Africa.
"You can see at the moment, with the Ukraine war that we are going through that the need to diversify the source of energy," Mbodji told DW. "
And if we look at the resource that Africa has in terms of, for example, gas, which is a source of transition, we can see its importance in Africa."
The forum came on the heels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Africa last month where he signed deals to support the necessary infrastructure to extract and export oil and gas to Europe.
Energy development projects are capital-intensive and require private-public partnerships, according to Ethiopia's energy minister, Sultan Wali.
"African governments cannot carry out these projects alone," Wali said.
"They need financial support from Germany and other rich western countries. This forum will create a strong ground for everyone." READ FURTHER FROM THE SOURCE
Keywords
renewable energy
Germany
Africa
partnerships
financial assistance
fossil fuels
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