More than 10,000 delegates gathered in Cape Town for the start of African Energy Week, driving commercial deals and technical workshops while climate protesters picketed outside the venue to demand an end to new fossil fuel exploration.
African Energy Week brought government leaders, national oil companies, and global investors together for what organizers dubbed Africa’s premier dealmaking platform. The gathering centers on energy finance, upstream exploration, and the broader push to eliminate the energy poverty affecting hundreds of millions across the continent. Targeted sessions slated for the multi-day event include the Global Energy Leaders Forum, which examines geopolitical realignment and long-term energy security contracts.
Fifteen Projects Seek Six Billion Dollars in Cape Town Deal Room
Rene Awambeng presented a portfolio of 15 oil, gas, and power projects seeking more than $6 billion in investment. The proposals range from early-stage development capital to major project financing across upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors.
An East African heavy-oil producer is seeking $200 million to $250 million in debt paired with a $350 million development program to scale production from 600 barrels per day up to 10,000 barrels per day in its first phase, followed by 20,000 barrels per day and export infrastructure in the second phase. Additional pitches included a Central Africa nearshore oil discovery seeking approximately $86 million to develop a tested asset, and a West African producing oil block seeking $112 million to $126 million in debt to purchase a 60 percent stake, aiming to grow from its current 4,000 barrels per day up to 23,000 barrels per day by 2031 alongside substantial contingent gas resources. Midstream and downstream proposals featured a Southern African liquefied petroleum gas import terminal seeking about $55 million to expand storage capacity from 5,5500 tons to 20,000 tons, and a West African 180 MW combined cycle gas-to-power plant seeking €250 million in financing.
Godfrey Moagi Takes Chair of African Petroleum Producers Forum
Outlining his tenure, Moagi named three core priorities: constructing regional refineries to avoid relying entirely on external markets, fast-tracking the Africa Energy Bank to secure financing when Western lenders decline participation, and increasing cross-border cooperation to build local technical workforce skills.
“As I take on this role, we must talk about building refineries. We cannot afford to have refineries in every single country without also building credible, viable markets. We must learn from what happened in the Strait of Hormuz – a third of our energy demand is routed through there, leaving us vulnerable. That is a vulnerability we must urgently fix.”
Godfrey Moagi, CEO of the South African National Petroleum Company
Outgoing GNPC CEO Kwame Ntow Amoah highlighted bilateral cooperation on Ghana’s offshore Jubilee Development between PetroSA and GNPC as a model of shared strength, pointing to the upcoming launch of the African Energy Bank and the Pan-African Local Content framework in Brazzaville as mechanisms for deeper collaboration.
Climate Activists Picket Outside Conference Denouncing Fossil Fuel Investment
While delegates deliberated inside, climate campaigners staged protests outside the conference venue on Tuesday. Members of Greenpeace Africa and Extinction Rebellion challenged the event’s framing of Africa as a new frontier for fossil fuel development, arguing that such investments exacerbate climate impacts like fires, floods, and food price inflation.
Police removed protesters wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan Make polluters pay.
“Oil companies from overseas have made billions in profits this year alone at the expense of people’s lives, at the expense of ecosystems, at the expense of African lives.”
Siya Myeza, climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Africa
In contrast, government officials defended natural gas development as a necessary complement to renewable energy sources, arguing that gas-fired facilities maintain grid stability when solar and wind generation fluctuate.
Africa Produces Battery Minerals While Millions Lack Electricity
The protests and dealmaking unfolded against a backdrop of stark energy disparity. According to data highlighted by the World Health Organization and regional energy assessments, more than 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity, representing roughly 86 percent of the global total.
African nations produce most of the world's cobalt and manganese for electric car batteries.