Africa Rejecting ‘Transition’ Out of Fossil Fuels, Seeks Oil and Gas for African Development
Aug. 19, 2023 (EIRNS)—African petroleum and gas producers, most of which are state-owned, are up in arms against the environmentalist so-called “energy transition” to replace the use of fossil fuels with low-technologies, such as wind turbines and solar panels. The “transition” is considered a “severe threat” by denying Africa the financial and economic benefits of fossil fuels. African nations plan to fight back by developing their own expertise and securing financial resources to exploit their hydrocarbons for the benefit of the industrialization of Africa. That was the message delivered in a speech by Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) before an industry conference in Sudan on June 19, 2023. The APPO represents 18 oil and gas producers in Africa, of which Venezuela is an observer.
Ibrahim attacked the fact that since “2015, when global leaders met at COP21 and signed the Paris Climate Agreement, these countries have succeeded in turning the world against fossil fuels” through what he called an “orchestrated” campaign. He counterposed: “It will be interesting for someone to commission a study on the sources of funding of Africa’s climate champions, especially the civil society groups.” He stated: “We are being encouraged, cajoled, and even threatened to abandon the hundreds of billions [of units] of proven oil reserves and hundreds of trillions [of units] of proven gas reserves for renewables.” He attributed the war against fossil fuels as a means for the West to gain its “energy security” at the expense of oil-producing developing countries.
He identified “four imminent threats: finance, technology, workforce, and infrastructure.” APPO is addressing each of these threats. On the issue of denying Africa the financial resources to develop its hydrocarbon sector, APPO is partnering with Afreximbank to create the African Energy Bank (AEB). On developing technology and know-how, APPO is working with its member states to create “regional centers of excellence in oil and gas.” Regarding oil infrastructure, Ibrahim also said that APPO is working to create the energy infrastructure needed to move energy from areas of abundance to areas of need, such as the Central Africa Pipeline System. In fact, APPO has become a sponsor of this project which was first initiated by Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. (http//apposecretariat.org/2023/06/19/keynote-at-the-south-sudan-oil-and-power-2023/)
