The African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) has underlined Mozambique’s central role in the new strategic vision for the continent’s energy sector, based on the principle of ‘Africa First’, an approach that aims to put the interests and energy needs of Africans above the demands of external markets.
Speaking during the conference of the African Association of Petroleum Refiners and Distributors (ARDA), held this week in Cape Town, APPO’s secretary general, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, argued that the current estimates of 632 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 120 billion barrels of oil on the continent are ‘grossly conservative’.
He emphasised that recent discoveries in countries such as Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Mauritania and Ghana confirm Africa’s enormous energy potential.
Mozambique was cited as one of the most emblematic cases of the under-exploitation of resources in the service of foreign interests. The country has significant natural gas reserves off the North Coast, particularly in the Rovuma basin, with exploration projects already underway by multinational companies.
However, according to Ibrahim, the history of the African energy industry has been marked by decisions guided by the needs of foreign markets, to the detriment of local populations.
‘For decades, the continent has accepted that others should prioritise the resources that God has blessed Africa with. It is only when these same partners reject our products that we consider using them internally,’ he said.
With more than a billion Africans still without access to modern energy, APPO argues that producer countries like Mozambique should take control of the exploration, technological development and financing processes in the sector. To this end, the African Energy Bank is being set up, a continental initiative that will be based in Nigeria and aims to reduce external dependence.
The organisation is also calling for the construction of intra-African energy infrastructures, such as gas pipelines and refineries, to enable a genuine regional energy market. In the case of Mozambique, this would mean not only exploiting the gas for export, but also using it to electrify communities, develop local industries and encourage gas processing on the national territory.
APPO’s new agenda is inspired by economic protectionist policies such as the one recently adopted by the United States under the slogan ‘America First’. According to the president of ARDA, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the world is moving towards an era of strengthened national interests, and Africa must not be left behind: ‘We need Afro-centred solutions to the challenges we face,’ he stressed.
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