Africa’s gas wealth must end energy poverty, SPE Nigeria chair insists

Source: Blueprint

Africa’s vast natural gas reserves will remain a wasted blessing unless governments, investors and industry leaders urgently turn them into electricity, industrial growth and household utilities, the Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council, Francis Nwaochei, has said.

Speaking at the ongoing SPE Africa Technology Conference 2026 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Nwaochei noted that despite the abundance of resources, widespread energy poverty continued to ravage the continent. 

He described this as “Africa’s energy paradox,” noting that although the continent holds enormous gas potential, “more than 600 million Africans still do not have access to electricity.”

He argued that the central issue is no longer whether Africa has enough gas, but whether it has the political will, infrastructure and investment climate to convert that gas into development. 

“The challenge is not the absence of resources, but the ability to unlock the value of those resources,” he said. 

Nwaochei said Africa would need massive investments in pipelines, processing plants, storage systems and distribution networks over the next decade to fully commercialise its gas potential. 

He also pointed to stalled regional gas projects, weak domestic gas markets, payment problems in the power sector and limited access to capital as major obstacles to progress.

Using Nigeria as a case study, he highlighted the country’s “Decade of Gas” initiative as an attempt to move “from resource to value” and position natural gas as a driver of economic growth between 2021 and 2030. 

According to him, the long-term goal is to transform Nigeria from a country that mainly exports raw resources into one that uses gas to power industrialisation, manufacturing, transportation and domestic economic development.

He said Nigeria still has an opportunity to emerge as one of the world’s leading gas producers if it gets regulation, technology, investment and partnerships right. Projects such as the Nigeria LNG Train 7 expansion, he noted, show how gas development can increase energy capacity, create jobs, deepen local participation and stimulate broader growth.

Nwaochei also cited Côte d’Ivoire as an emerging West African gas success story, saying the country’s gas-to-power model demonstrates how natural gas can underpin energy security and industrial development. 

He noted that gas accounts for roughly 69 per cent of Côte d’Ivoire’s power generation, with offshore discoveries helping to strengthen its long-term energy ambitions.

But beyond national examples, he pushed for a regional approach, arguing that countries such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal should work toward an integrated West African gas market. Cross-border pipelines, decentralised gas solutions, modular processing and virtual pipeline systems, he said, could unlock stranded resources and reduce energy costs across the region.

His most forceful message was a call for action.

“The question before us is not whether Africa has gas,” he said. “The question is how to responsibly, efficiently and sustainably convert this resource into prosperity for our people.”

He added: “We must move from discussion to delivery.”

For Nwaochei, delivery means more than export earnings or gas cylinders in urban markets. It means gas, water and electricity reaching homes and businesses as basic utilities. If Africa gets that transition right, he suggested, natural gas could become not just a bridge fuel, but the backbone of industrial transformation on the continent.