
Africa will require an estimated $375 billion in investment over the next 10 to 12 years to fully develop its natural gas resources and meet rising domestic and export demand, according to the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
The estimate was presented by Dr. Riverson Oppong, Africa Director at SPE, during a workshop at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference in Senegal. Despite holding roughly 8% of global natural gas reserves, Africa remains underrepresented in global gas markets due to policy constraints, infrastructure gaps and limited access to financing, SPE said.
“Africa is a gas market,” Oppong said. “But despite our immense potential, we don’t participate meaningfully on the global stage. The constraints are policy, commercial frameworks, infrastructure and financing conditions.”
SPE noted that several countries are working to address these challenges through integrated gas master plans, improved contractual terms and stronger institutional capacity. However, large-scale upstream and midstream investment will be required to translate recent discoveries into sustained production growth.
According to industry data shared at the event, 17 high-impact exploration wells were completed across Africa in 2025, reinforcing expectations of continued upstream activity. SLB representatives said oil and natural gas demand on the continent is expected to increase by about 20% by 2050, driven by population growth, industrialization and power demand.
SLB highlighted digital technologies as a key lever for improving exploration success, drilling efficiency and production optimization across African assets. Technologies including IoT, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence were cited as tools to enhance real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and operational decision-making.
“Data is a key focus area for improving the upstream value chain in Africa,” said Larry Velasco, Africa New Ventures Manager at SLB, noting that poor data quality can result in revenue losses of 15% to 25% for operators.
Paul Freeman, Global Exploration Advisor at SLB, added that rising energy demand underscores the urgency of new investment.
“Energy demand is increasing rapidly, and Africa’s oil and gas industry requires accelerated capital deployment to offset decline and meet peak demand,” Freeman said.
SPE said continued collaboration between operators, service companies, governments and financial institutions will be critical to unlocking Africa’s gas potential and advancing long-term energy security across the continent.
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