The upcoming African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference – Africa’s premier event for the energy sector, taking place from November 4-8 in Cape Town – will host a technical hub, offering valuable insights into the future of energy including groundbreaking projects and new opportunities for collaboration and investment.

Taking place during the conference from November 5-7, the technical hub invites industry experts, leading engineers and technology innovators to present cutting-edge solutions and share best practices to foster knowledge exchange and drive the industry forward. The technical hub will feature high-level presentations and in-depth discussions on a range of topics including oil and gas assets, innovative energy technologies and the latest advancements in the energy sector.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

Africa’s ambitious plans for natural gas production, economic diversification and job creation, particularly for women and young people, are set to be outlined during the technical hub. Africa continues to hold resource-rich basins with billions of untapped proven oil and gas reserves, with exploration hotspots cropping up across the southern, eastern and western corners of the continent.

With the arrival of a FPSO vessel to the flagship Senegalese-Mauritanian Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG project – which boasts the deepest subsea infrastructure in Africa – in June this year, phase one of the development is expected to produce around 2.3 million tons of natural gas annually for more than 20 years. In East Africa, energy giant TotalEnergies announced its hopes in February to resume construction on its Mozambique LNG project by mid-2024 while in Ivory Coast, energy supermajor is poised to invest $10 billion towards the development of the offshore zero-emission Baleine project. These established markets will serve as a blueprint to some of the continent’s emerging markets, including Namibia and Senegal, while showcasing the capacity to spearhead technical innovations on the back of upstream development.

A focus on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology during the technical hubs will also showcase the key role it will fulfill for Africa’s oil and gas industry in the years to come. Incorporating CCUS technology into the game plan for the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry is poised to bolster the continent’s efforts to eradicate energy poverty while fostering socioeconomic growth across the continent.

Despite offering a wealth of resources, a lack of adequate refining infrastructure has resulted in import-heavy economies continent-wide. This trend, however, is set to reverse as recent oil and gas discoveries motivate the development of new refining plants and the upgrading of existing infrastructure. Efforts to bolster downstream infrastructure are already being seen across the continent. Angola is constructing three new refining facilities while upgrading its existing Luanda refinery. Upon completion, these projects will bring the country’s refining capacity to over 425,000 barrels per day (bpd). Africa’s largest refinery – the 650,000 bpd Dangote facility – started operations in 2023, and in 2024, has secured a number of supply deals with companies such as TotalEnergies.

At the same time, a number of pipeline projects are under developments in Africa that aim to strengthen regional distribution. These include Nigeria’s $2.8 billion Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano gas pipeline – set for completion in 2024 –; the 7,000 km Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline – which expects FID in 2024 –; and many more. As such, the technical hubs will unite stakeholders across Africa’s downstream sector to discuss the continent’s most pressing challenges as well as the opportunities for global investors with the aim of maximizing energy security throughout the continent.

Furthermore, the technical hubs will offer insight into opportunities for service companies to support Africa’s oil and gas industries. Activities such as engineering and procurement, well construction, drilling, seismic data and subsea vessels, and much more, offer meaningful openings for small- and medium-sized enterprises to enter the market and propel the industry forward. Service companies also offer an opportune chance for the sector to promote local content development, economic diversification and skills transfer, paving the way for industrialization, resource management and the eradication of energy poverty across Africa.

“Africa remains one of the most attractive destinations for investment,” states African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk, adding, “With a significant portion of the African population still lacking access to electricity, the role of international oil companies and national oil companies is set to deliver ripe opportunities for technical service providers to drive energy security and socioeconomic development.”