African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk says preparations are well advanced for AEW 2026, with ministers, investors, operators and global energy leaders heading to Cape Town for an event focused on investment, deals, local content and Africa’s growing role in global energy security.
By Ajong Mbapndah L
With African Energy Week 2026 drawing closer, African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk says preparations are gathering momentum for an edition shaped by one of the most consequential periods in Africa’s recent energy history. New discoveries, licensing rounds, major project approvals and shifting global energy dynamics are putting the continent under a brighter investment spotlight, and Ayuk wants AEW to help turn that momentum into projects, partnerships and deals.
“Preparations for AEW are well advanced,” Ayuk told Pan African Visions. The program has been released and continues to evolve around the critical issues shaping Africa’s energy landscape, including opportunities in oil, gas and coal emerging against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and renewed concerns over global energy security.
The caliber of early confirmations offers a glimpse of what is taking shape. According to Ayuk, OPEC, major international oil companies, African producers and logistics players such as AGL are among the stakeholders expected, alongside energy ministers from Zambia, Ghana, Senegal, Algeria and Niger. More government and industry confirmations are expected as the event approaches.
For Ayuk, the significance of AEW 2026 goes beyond numbers. At a time when geopolitical tensions are forcing governments and companies to rethink supply security, investment destinations and energy partnerships, he believes Africa has an opportunity to strengthen its position as a serious player in the global energy system rather than remain simply a reservoir of untapped resources.
Africa has already shown what it can offer when global markets come under pressure. During the early stages of the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe increasingly turned to supplies from Algeria, Nigeria, Mozambique and the Republic of Congo. Ayuk believes continued geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, reinforce the case for diversification and could drive further European, Asian and Chinese investment into African oil and gas.
Against that backdrop, the Chamber wants AEW to be where interest in Africa meets actual opportunity. Ayuk says this year’s agenda promises to be “bigger and more impactful than ever,” bringing together regulators, investors, project developers and players across oil, gas, renewables and the wider energy value chain. The emphasis will be on deal-making and strategic partnerships capable of moving projects forward and strengthening companies across the continent.
AEW 2026 will connect participants through five strategic tracks covering opportunities across Africa’s energy ecosystem. The Chamber expects the format to deepen engagement between governments and the private sector while creating room for academia, technology innovators and service providers to contribute to the discussions and partnerships shaping the industry.
The timing could hardly be more significant. Ayuk points to licensing rounds in Nigeria, Angola, Libya and Egypt, alongside expanding opportunities through open-door policies and direct negotiations in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Senegal and Mauritania. Discoveries and drilling campaigns are advancing across several basins, while major investment decisions have included Mozambique’s Coral Norte FLNG project and Nigeria’s Usan deepwater development.
Senegal and Mauritania’s first cargo from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim Phase 1 project and the launch of Congo LNG Phase 2 have added to the momentum. Yet Ayuk says one stubborn problem continues to hold Africa back: project delays. Regulatory bottlenecks, slow permitting and lengthy approval processes remain costly obstacles at a time when competition for global capital is intense.
The Chamber has been pushing governments to cut red tape, accelerate approvals and create conditions that give investors greater confidence. For Ayuk, discoveries and announcements only go so far if promising projects remain trapped for years between regulatory hurdles, financing difficulties and political indecision.
Just as important is the question of who benefits when investment arrives. Ayuk has become increasingly forceful in arguing that Africa’s energy expansion must create jobs, skills, businesses and opportunities for Africans. The Chamber is pushing for stronger local participation, greater inclusion of women and more opportunities for black professionals throughout the energy value chain.
“Africa must no longer be a bystander while foreign entities extract resources and export profits to benefit their economies, leaving our people in poverty and energy insecurity,” Ayuk said. Foreign companies operating on the continent, he argues, must employ Africans, while international platforms discussing African resources must give African voices a meaningful place at the table.
That conviction is central to the identity the Chamber has sought to build around African Energy Week. AEW is intended to be more than another international conference discussing Africa from a distance. Governments, national oil companies, African entrepreneurs, service providers and young professionals share the platform with global investors and major energy companies, with African priorities at the heart of the conversation.
Financing those priorities will be another important theme in Cape Town. Ayuk says Africa holds more than $4 trillion in untapped domestic capital, presenting a major opportunity to finance infrastructure and industrial development. He sees the African Energy Bank as an important part of efforts to mobilize more African capital for African projects and reduce excessive dependence on external financing.
For Ayuk, Africa must also move further down the value chain. Refinery developments in Angola, Senegal’s planned SAR 2.0 project and Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery illustrate the direction he believes the continent should pursue. Producing resources without building the capacity to process them at home limits their economic impact, while stronger refining and processing capacity can support industrialization, energy security and intra-African trade.
The message heading into AEW is therefore not simply that Africa needs more investment. It is that investment should leave behind stronger industries, skilled workers, competitive African companies, infrastructure and greater energy security. The continent cannot indefinitely export raw resources, import expensive finished products and still struggle to provide reliable energy to its people.
The African Energy Awards will also return as part of AEW 2026, recognizing individuals, companies and projects contributing to the development of the sector. Ayuk said industry players have been actively submitting entries, adding another dimension to an event that combines policy discussions and investment conversations with recognition of achievement across the industry.
Despite his optimism, Ayuk sees clear risks. Africa has abundant resources and growing investor interest, but bureaucracy, financing constraints, infrastructure gaps and competing views over the pace of hydrocarbon development can still slow progress. He remains adamant that climate concerns should not become a reason for leaving resources undeveloped while large sections of the African population remain without adequate access to reliable energy.
What gives him confidence is the activity already underway: licensing rounds, projects coming online and growing investment interest across Angola, Libya, West Africa and other producing regions. The task now is to translate those developments into a durable energy economy that powers homes and industries, creates employment and gives Africa greater control over the wealth beneath its soil and waters.
For companies and investors still considering whether Cape Town should be on their calendar, Ayuk’s pitch is uncomplicated. AEW 2026 will put governments, capital, projects, operators, service companies and technology providers in the same space, creating opportunities for conversations to move beyond conference panels into partnerships and commercial deals.
For Ayuk and the Chamber, success in Cape Town will therefore mean more than another crowded conference. It will mean strengthening the case for an Africa that develops its resources, attracts investment on competitive terms, finances more of its ambitions, builds domestic industries and ensures Africans have a meaningful stake in the prosperity their resources generate. That is the conversation AEW 2026 is preparing to take forward.
