Africa-Press – Cape verde. European leaders are rushing to African capitals, eager to find alternatives to Russian natural gas, raising hope among the continent’s partners that the war against Ukraine could change the unequal relationship with Europe, attracting a new wave investment in gas, despite the pressure placed on the energy transition, wrote The New York Times yesterday.
The North American newspaper recalls, in an article devoted to the search for gas in Africa, that the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, went to Senegal, in September, in an effort to complete acquisitions, while the leader of the German Government, Olaf Scholz, came in March to the continent, looking for the same thing, and told his country’s Parliament that the energy crisis requires “that we work with countries where there is the possibility of developing gas fields” and at the same time fulfilling promises to reduce the emissions of the gases that cause of the greenhouse effect.
“The war has taken a complete turn,” declared the energy adviser to the President of Senegal, Macky Sall. “The narrative has changed.” The multiplication of expressions of interest on the part of Europe is leading to new energy projects and accelerating others, and there is talk of even more to come.
The hope in African capitals is that European demand will lead to the financing of gas installations, not just for export but for domestic consumption, an issue that is of enormous importance in some parts of the continent.
According to the newspaper, Italian ministers have accompanied managers to Eni, one of the largest energy companies in the world, to Angola, Algeria, Republic of Congo and Mozambique, where a natural gas terminal operated by the company should start producing in a matter of days. . The company is now discussing with the Mozambican government the possibility of building an additional terminal.
“The same Europeans who just two or three months ago preached to us, saying no to gas’, are now saying that they want a middle ground, says African Union Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure, Amani Abou-Zeid. trying to survive, but instead we are being infantilized”.
The argument of African leaders is that natural gas, cheaper and cleaner than oil, should serve as a fuel for the continent’s energy transition, while moving to renewable sources such as wind and solar energy, as has been done in Europe.
Before the African gas race, European experts, however, were keen to argue that the desire of African countries to extract gas is totally wrong from the point of view of climate change.
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