Africa’s Abundant Resources Position Continent As Key Player In Global Energy Market-NJ Ayuk

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

The African continent is pushing hard for a just energy transition that takes into account the peculiarities of energy poverty and other challenges that the continent faces. Recent developments around the world seem to support Africa's position that oil and gas remain a key source of global energy, at least for the foreseeable future.

In a recent interview with Arise News, NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, discussed "Africa in a Global Energy Dynamic." NJ Ayuk highlighted Africa's critical role in the global energy landscape, emphasizing the continent's abundant resources and strategic importance.

For the upcoming African Energy Week 2024: Invest in African Energies, NJ Ayuk emphasized the event's significance for Africa, especially with the return of the OPEC roundtable discussion, which will open doors for new deals and investments in the continent.

“It is so important to have these African discussions, big deals about African energy done in Africa. It's like hosting the Africa Nation Football Cup in Qatar or Dubai. It ceases its relevance,” NJ Ayuk said. “And this continent that has abundant resources, people need to have those discussions here around the people that have the resources and also see the problems.”

Why is Africa at the centre of the global discourse on energy at this time?

NJ Ayuk: I think Africa is at the centre of global discourse because of one most important thing, energy poverty. I think at a time when many are saying we need to, because of climate change, we need to abandon oil and gas resources, Africans are today saying, no, it's our time to develop. We still have 600 million people without access to electricity, and 900 million without access to clean cooking.

We cannot abandon them at this time when we are still trying to industrialize. But the world has come to a point where you need to respect African voices. You need to take into consideration African industrialization. There is so much gas, natural gas in Africa that we can use to industrialize. There is so much oil to be found. That's why we say drill, baby, drill, to be able to see that we can monetize these resources and develop our people.

This is not the time when Africa has to back down from driving up oil production. But also, the global voices that are saying we need to shift to cleaner forms of energy, have to live up to their true promises. It's not okay to promise billions of dollars for clean cooking or energy access, yet that money never comes.

That's why we need to continue driving up Africa's position, driving up our right to produce natural gas and oil, driving up on all of the above drill, baby, drill energy policy. That's what we think needs to be done, at the same time facing renewables when necessary.

You've been advocating the drill, baby, drill, and this seems to have gotten some angst out there in the world where you say the world should continue drilling at the African Energy Chamber. Your organization has held several energy roadshows in London, in Paris, in Dubai, and elsewhere. What are you looking to achieve through those events?

NJ Ayuk: The first thing is what you have to look at is that we have to be very, very emphatic in attracting investment into the continent. We need foreign investors, but also, we need to create an enabling environment because the above-ground risk issues are also stalling investment.

So our roadshows have been all about driving investment, bringing investors into the continent, and showing opportunities. There are too many projects in Africa without investment, and there's too much investment out there without projects.

I was in London, a really beautiful city, I love the UK, long live the king. But we had so much to do around Paris, and also around Dubai, and we've been looking at going to China, we were even in Nigeria. The events that we carry out around these roadshows are all about attraction.

We got to sell Africa, we got to market Africa, and we got to talk up. We are tired of people talking down on Africa as if we are in the dark ages or the black continent. We should be proud of our continent and showcase those opportunities, and I thank God that we have an opportunity to show that and do it in the best form.

What makes the hosting of the African Energy Week on African soil imperative?

NJ Ayuk: It is so important to have these African discussions, big deals about African energy done in Africa. We opposed it in the past when a London-based group wanted to move it to Dubai, we said that was wrong. And I put it this way, it's like hosting the Africa Nation Football Cup in Qatar or Dubai. It ceases its relevance. We just saw the European Cup, imagine the European Cup is being played in Saudi Arabia. Nobody would like that.

Why is it always that anything African, has to be that disrespected? And people would want to say you take it out of Africa. I think we need to be able to bring some respect back in Africa and put some respect on our name, and that is just what we think is important. And this continent that has abundant resources, people need to have those discussions here around the people that have the resources and also see the problems.

It's also important for us to look beyond oil discussions or oil investment, the tourism dollars that come into African cities when you host these big events and conferences and these discussions, also drive up the local industry, create multiplier jobs and boost the economies. That is so important and we are all about those multipliers because they can mean something for everyday people. That's why I strongly advocate these discussions to be had here in Africa and not in Dubai.

Your advocacy organization started at the weekend on the African Oil Week and Sankofa events acquisition. What's at the heart of that deal? What are your views on it?

NJ Ayuk: Well, Sankofa is a London-based startup that was created on July 6 and then went on to do an acquisition of Africa Oil Week. We don't know much, but I think that it is insignificant to what we do at the Chamber and Africa Energy Week. It is non-consequential, but I'll put it this way. It's like saying Africa Oil Week or that specific conference just left Mayfair to Thamesmead and Peckham.

OPEC itself, at the very top of its echelon, has spoken on the fact that, yes, they still need to have oil and gas in the global energy mix, at least for the foreseeable future. Do you think these positions now seem to validate the position of the African Energy Chamber?

NJ Ayuk: I think it's validation and vindication, because when we were talking against this global elitist trend that said just stop oil, most people thought we were crazy, and right now being able to have a pragmatic, common-sense approach that we took in saying this is not the time to stop oil, this is not the time to stop natural gas, and especially for Africa, we have a sovereign right to produce. I think the creation of the African Energy Bank and Nigeria hosting, goes hand in hand with that, and we need to give credit to Dr Omar Farooq from APO and Professor Rama from AfriExim Bank for really driving this.

But I also think that the global discussion around oil and gas was wrong. The reports of the death of oil were grossly exaggerated, as Mark Twain would say, but I also believe that we have to look at justice in this discussion. The justice there is nobody's telling Norway to produce 4 million barrels a day with the one trillion sovereign wealth funds to stop.

Nobody's telling the US to stop producing 13 million barrels of oil a day. Nobody's telling the United Kingdom to not produce in the North Sea, but they're quick to rush to Uganda and say don't build a pipeline because that's going to be the end of the world. They're quick to run to Nigeria and say stop the oil. They're quick to run to Namibia. There's something fundamentally patronizing in that, but we shouldn't stop there.

We as Africans have to do our job. We need to look at how we encourage markets, limited government, and taxes, deal with our ground risk issues, and speed up permitting. In Nigeria right now, you have a lot of Nigerian indigenous companies that have acquired assets that the IOCs are divesting. They need to move fast. The administration needs to move fast do these approvals and let these guys get to work. We need to move at our speed and produce every drop of hydrocarbons we can find and develop our people.

Some three months to the annual edition of the AEW 2024 in Cape Town. Give me a brief rundown of the preparations. I just saw in the news that the OPEC Africa roundtable will take place again this year.

NJ Ayuk: Isn't it beautiful that OPEC is going to be down in Cape Town? We love it. The OPEC Secretary General and most of the OPEC ministers coming down, and national oil companies from the Middle East and Africa will be here. There are massive players in traditional oil and gas companies, but a big search in renewable energy companies and what they're trying to do. So, I think we'll see a more unified conference, a very dignified African Energy Week.

But there's something that you're going to be shocked. You're going to see a huge number of billions of dollars of deals that are going to be unleashed during this Energy Week. We are going to shock the world with the level of deals, of deal signings that are happening.

I have spent my time trying to nurture a lot of that, whether it is working with partners across the Middle East and the U.S. or Europe, and it's all coming together. And I need to give credit to some of the African NOCs and governments that have been willing to fast-track negotiations, fast-track deal signings. So, we're going to see unleashed on big things, and I'm interested in those deals that would shore up local content, shoring up women empowerment, shoring up STEM, and also shoring up gas development and driving our energy poverty numbers down.

So, you're going to see a lot of that, and I'm excited about it because it gives me pleasure that our work is not going in vain, we just need to believe in Africa, and if we believe in Africa, then we can unleash our true potential and shock the world.

On a final note, are you watching developments in Nigeria regarding the Dangote refinery in the face-off, as it were, with the industry oil regulator as well as the NNPC? How do you think this should be resolved?

NJ Ayuk: I think that this is going to be resolved. There is a great value that an investor like Aliko Dangote does in not just Nigeria, but the entire of Africa, but we also need regulators to help create an enabling environment so that we all can benefit from those investments and continue bringing in because at the end of the day, you know who stands to this?

We need to be able to supply, guarantee our energy security, and ensure that everyday people like my grandmother can go out there and do their jobs, whether it's in restaurants or hotels or get shovel-ready jobs for that.

But I think at a certain stage, we need to be very, very careful about the polarization and the demonization that is going on in there, whether it's against a regulator or an investor. It doesn't help. It doesn't help. We need to cool it down, and we need to be able to drive that up. But I think Nigeria is a country with a lot of smart people.

They need to calm down their rhetoric because it doesn't help the industry. We need to be giving that. And we as a chamber will be having conversations with various parties on how they should move forward without polarization.