LNG for Africa

Though Africa is traditionally considered as an exporter of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), in future it could come to be seen as an LNG market. Until recently, financing issues, market conditions, price sensitivity and the small size of the individual gas markets were all strong deterrents to sellers looking at Africa as an LNG destination, even though the region’s per capita energy consumption is very low and there are hundreds of millions without electricity and modern cooking facilities. But now the situation has fundamentally changed because, faced with the slowdown in Asian LNG demand and a global LNG oversupply, sellers are looking for new markets. At the same time, LNG has become more affordable, more flexible and is increasingly sold on a spot basis. So now, gas can be part of the solution to developing Africa’s electricity generation, along with renewables.