Gas remains Africa’s biggest game changer, providing significant opportunity for several countries on the continent.According to Karl Staubo, CEO of Golar LNG, natural gas and LNG offer a solution to Africa’s looming electricity shortages, while also addressing environmental sustainability. As the second-fastest-growing energy sectors through 2050, the resource can provide baseload power which is needed on the continent.“LNG is the least atmospheric-offensive energy resource compared to other resources available for Africa. Most of the power generation in Africa currently is thermal, and gas is the fuel of choice,” Dr Ben Asante, CEO of Ghana Gas, said at a recent conference in Cape Town. “Using oil to generate 1000 MW of power, we needed 4000 barrels per day, which costs $70 million. But with gas, the bill is now half, meaning gas is cheap. In terms of carbon emissions, with oil we used to emit 8.3m tons of carbon. But with LNG, we are only emitting 1.2m tons. LNG is the only resource at the moment that can help us address power outages. With LNG, we can store and use the energy at a later time, unlike piped gas, which you have to use instantly.”One of the biggest challenges hindering the growth of the African LNG industry has been the lack of infrastructure. Transporting and trading gas across Africa has been near impossible.“Ghana is a net importer of gas, although we have local production from three fields. However, our demand is so huge that we will have to import.According to Asante, with 16 countries in Africa landlocked, the demand for logistics will always be high to and from these countries. Infrastructure to allow for increased gas trading on the continent is needed. Asante said LNG posed the opportunity to address energy poverty on the continent and could drive more inter-continental gas trading. Another challenge has been funding. Only 33% of the continent’s proven resources are economically recoverable. But, the regional trading of gas is increasingly being discussed by African countries as a boost to industry growth. LNG provides the ideal solution for the continent to exploit and monetise its stranded assets.
