Grand Tortue Ahmeyim Expansion – Mauritania & Senegal

With first LNG already achieved, the strategic focus has shifted to Phase 2 expansion of the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim development. Partners are advancing plans for a low-cost scale-up that could roughly double liquefaction capacity before the end of the decade, leveraging existing floating LNG infrastructure and proven offshore reserves. Because core infrastructure and export routes are already in place, Phase 2 represents one of the clearest near-term LNG growth opportunities in Africa, offering comparatively lower development risk alongside meaningful production upside.

Yakaar-Teranga – Senegal’s Pre-FID Gas Anchor

Senegal’s Yakaar‑Teranga discovery remains one of the world’s largest undeveloped gas resources, with commercialization structure and domestic-versus-export allocation still under negotiation. This positioning places Yakaar-Teranga among the continent’s most consequential pre-FID gas opportunities, capable of underpinning future LNG trains, long-term gas-to-power supply or industrial feedstock development – making it a focal point for upstream financiers and infrastructure developers evaluating scalable, long-life reserves.

Nigeria’s Domestic LNG & Gas-to-Power Build-Out

Nigeria is accelerating gas monetization through supply growth, LNG expansion and downstream utilization. A 2026 gas master plan targets an additional 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of supply, forming part of ambitions to reach 10 bcf/d by 2027 and 12 bcf/d by 2030, alongside more than $60 billion in sector investment. Parallel rollout of mini-LNG and small-scale liquefaction projects is expanding gas access for off-grid industry, transport and distributed power – creating multiple entry points for midstream investors, technology providers and infrastructure financiers across the value chain. For capital markets, Nigeria’s strategy signals a shift from export-only LNG toward integrated domestic gas ecosystems with diversified revenue streams.

Libya’s Gas Redevelopment Potential

Libya is working to raise gas production to nearly one billion cubic feet per day in the second half of 2026 through offshore redevelopment and the rehabilitation of legacy infrastructure, with the dual aim of stabilizing domestic electricity supply and rebuilding export capacity. If financing conditions and political alignment continue to improve, the country could re-emerge as a major Mediterranean gas supplier later this decade – representing one of North Africa’s most significant, yet still undercapitalized, gas investment opportunities.

Congo LNG – Fast-Track Floating Liquefaction Growth

The Congo LNG development has rapidly positioned the Republic of Congo as a new LNG exporter. Phase 2 began operations in December 2025, adding 2.4 million tons per year of capacity and lifting total output to about 3 million tons annually. Built around floating LNG units and modular upstream tie-ins, the project demonstrates a replicable, lower-cost commercialization model – reducing timelines compared with traditional onshore terminals. For investors, the modular structure and expansion-ready design create opportunities across upstream supply, LNG shipping, processing services and regional gas infrastructure partnerships, offering a clear pathway to participate in a fast-growing and relatively lower-risk African LNG market.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said Washington is not satisfied with the Paris-based agency’s current direction, arguing that its modelling and outlooks have become overly shaped by climate ideology at the expense of practical energy realities. He was direct in his messaging when he said that the IEA must return to prioritizing energy access and solvable clean cooking solutions.

For years, African leaders and private-sector stakeholders have argued that the IEA drifted from its original purpose – becoming increasingly politicized in its outlooks and instrumental in shaping restrictive financing narratives around oil and gas. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has consistently maintained that this shift has had real consequences for developing economies, contributing to capital flight from African hydrocarbons and slowing the continent’s ability to tackle widespread energy poverty. If the IEA is now reassessing its position, the question is whether this represents genuine reform – or political expediency under mounting global pressure.

A History of Weaponizing Energy Outlooks  

The IEA has politicized its outlooks and adopted an anti-oil and gas agenda that directly undermined African development ambitions for years. Its 2021 net-zero roadmap – updated in 2025 – became a weapon used by financiers and multilateral institutions to restrict capital flows into Africa’s energy sector. Some of the objectives include no new investment for fossil fuel supply after 2021 and sales of fossil fuel boilers after 2025. It also condemns international combustion engine car sales after 2035, targeting 60% electric car sales and 50% electric heavy trucks from 2035.

These steps assume a lot about the state of the world – assumptions that are faulty, especially for Africa. For one, it will require universal energy access by 2030 – including electricity and clean cooking. With approximately 592 million Africans currently without this access, the continent is going to be hard-pressed to flip that switch in less than 10 years.

The IEA’s roadmap also relies on unprecedented investments in renewables – a substantial boost in clean energy investments from the $1 trillion made over the last five years all the way up to $5 trillion annually by 2030 – and cooperation from policymakers who are unified in their efforts. In this idyllic partnership, Africa’s Western counterparts talk a good game. But the fact is, to date, these same Western countries have invested little to no funding into Africa’s renewables space. To our dismay even the international oil companies that have tried to accept the IEA’s publicity stunt have little or no renewable projects in Africa.

OPEC wrote in response to IEA’s roadmap release that “For many developing countries, the pathway to net zero without international assistance is not clear. Technical and financial support is needed to ensure deployment of key technologies and infrastructure. Without greater international co‐operation, global CO2 emissions will not fall to net zero by 2050.”

The damage of the roadmap has been profound. Global financiers such as BNP Paribas and HSBC halted all new oil and gas financing while institutions such as Barclays, Nedbank and Deutsche Bank moved to selectively finance projects. In 2019, the World Bank also announced that it will stop direct investments in upstream oil and gas. When African countries were fighting for the development of strategic gas resources, one of the continent’s biggest institutional opponents was the IEA.

“A bank should evaluate investment in an African oil field based on a project’s viability and associated risk, just as it would for a Norwegian, British or American project. Yet they don’t. This is precisely why the AEC plans to hold several banks legally accountable for promoting financial apartheid in the energy sector,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, AEC.

The Clean Cooking Challenge

With over 900 million people in Africa living without access to clean cooking solutions, addressing the problem of energy security is no longer an isolated challenge – it’s a strategic imperative. If Africa were to listen to the IEA, there would be no investment to address this challenge. Europe would not gain access to African gas supplies, making projects such as Angola LNG, Congo LNG, Greater Tortue Ahmeyim in Senegal/Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea’s Gas Mega Hub and Algerian production facilities obsolete. At a time when Mozambique LNG is resuming and Libya, Egypt and Nigeria are looking to produce more, IEA recommendations could prove catastrophic for Africa’s clean cooking quest.

Delivering remarks during the IEA’s 2026 Ministerial this week, Secretary Wright underscored that with $4 billion invested annually, the world can accelerate the rollout of clean cooking solutions and lift nearly two billion people out of energy poverty. While the IEA should be at the forefront of this drive, Secretary Wright highlighted how a focus on climate change has redirected critical financing away from hydrocarbons.

“The world today spends $1 trillion in the name of fighting climate change – collectively over $10 trillion in the last 20 years. What has been the upside of that? Only 2.6% of global energy comes from solar, wind, batteries and the increased transmission lines to promote them. This has only had meaningful penetration in rich countries,” he said.

A 2024 report by U.S. Senator John Barrasso further condemns the IEA for its renewable approach, arguing that the organization is increasingly responsible for feeding the unrealistic view that emerging economies can develop using only renewables. This shift began in 2020 when the IEA ceased creating energy market forecasts based on actual demand and decided to focus exclusively on hypothetical scenarios aligned with extreme emissions reduction targets.

This goes against the very mandate by which the IEA was established. Following an oil crisis and spike in prices in 1974, the IEA was established to ensure reliable, affordable and secure energy supplies worldwide. The organization’s recent history has contradicted this mandate.

“Africa will not make energy poverty history by abandoning the very resources that can fund its development. Oil and gas are not the problem – underdevelopment is. Organizations such as the IEA have played a central role in restricting financing, politicizing fossil fuels and impacting African energy development. That needs to stop,” adds Ayuk.

A Step in the Right Direction

Despite its history of inaction, the IEA seems to be moving in the right direction, announcing that it will host the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) – launched in 2010 – to tackle the global clean cooking crisis. The IEA will partner with governments and industry to accelerate universal clean cooking access, integrating the CCA within the IEA. The U.S. is also ramping-up its clean cooking support. Secretary Wright announced the launch of a Clean Cooking Accelerator Program to help build infrastructure to enable faster deployment of clean cooking solutions – focusing primarily on Africa. While these efforts are notable, much more needs to be done.

“Reform at the IEA must go beyond press releases. It must include a recalibration of outlooks to reflect differentiated development pathways, a rejection of blanket investment bans and an acknowledgment that African hydrocarbons are compatible with global climate goals,” Ayuk stated. “The AEC believes that Secretary Wright needs to put more teeth on his clean cooking and energy poverty plan. The African private sector will fund it. We don’t want aid – we want partnerships.”

As the voice of the African energy sector, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) commends Eni for its sustained commitment to African exploration. Large-scale discoveries in Ivory Coast and Angola are not only commercial wins – they are strategic victories for the continent. For emerging producers such as Ivory Coast, discoveries of this scale fast-track energy independence and domestic gas-to-power expansion. For mature producers such as Angola, they underpin production stability and fiscal resilience at a time when global capital is increasingly selective. As the company advances appraisal, testing and development planning, these discoveries have the potential to catalyze a new wave of upstream momentum across Africa’s hydrocarbon market.

Ivory Coast: Unlocking New Frontiers

Representing the first exploration well in Block CI-501, Eni’s recent Calao South discovery has estimated volumes of 5 trillion cubic feet of gas and 450 million barrels of condensate. Drilled in water depths of approximately 5,000 meters, the Murene South-1X well encountered high-quality Cenomanian sands with excellent petrophysical properties. The well will undergo a full drill stem test to assess production capacity, but the scale of resources already signals a potential game-changer for the Ivorian gas market.

Crucially, Calao South complements the fast-tracked Baleine Field development – led by Eni as operator. Currently producing over 62,000 barrels of oil and more than 75 million cubic feet of gas per day from Phases 1 and 2, Baleine is set to ramp up significantly under Phase 3, targeting 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. This phased development model demonstrates how exploration success can be rapidly converted into production, supporting domestic power generation and industrial demand while boosting export capacity.

Angola: Scaling-Up Production

Eni’s exploration drive extends beyond Africa’s frontier margins. In established markets such as Angola, the company continues to deliver successful exploration results, with its recent Algaita-01 well further validating the resource potential of Block 15/06 – one of Angola’s biggest producing assets. Drilled in 667 meters of water by the Saipem 12000 drillship, the well encountered oil-bearing sandstones across multiple Upper Miocene intervals, supported by comprehensive data acquisition and fluid sampling. Initial resource estimates measure 500 million barrels of oil, underscoring the growth potential of Angola’s mid-life assets.

What makes Algaita-01 particularly significant is its proximity to the Olombendo FPSO. The presence of existing infrastructure materially enhances development prospects, lowering capital intensity and accelerating time-to-market. This near-field exploration model exemplifies how incremental discoveries around established hubs can sustain production above one million barrels per day in Angola, even as legacy fields mature.

A Continental Exploration Drive

Eni’s Ivory Coast and Angola discoveries come as the company advances a bold exploration strategy across the broader African market. In North Africa, the company plans to invest up to €24 billion across Algeria, Libya and Egypt over the next four years, signaling a major boost for the regional market. Just this month, the company secured the offshore exploration License O1 following Libya’s 2025 open licensing round. Exploration coincides with an ambitious LNG drive in Africa, with projects such as Congo LNG – Phase 2 of which commenced in December 2025 – and Coral North – launched in October 2025 – underpinning its gas strategy.

“Eni’s recent discoveries in Ivory Coast and Angola send a powerful signal to the global market that Africa remains open, prospective and competitive. Oil and gas are not relics of the past for our continent – they are the foundation of industrialization, power generation and economic sovereignty. Companies that continue to explore, invest and partner with African nations are driving real development and long-term energy security,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, AEC.