Eskom is in discussions with various lenders and foreign governments to "confirm their interest and appetite" for cleaner energy projects.

The power utility responded to questions from Fin24 following a report by Bloomberg that it was seeking to raise R33.1 billion from five Development Finance Institutions (DFI). The funding would be used to help repurpose coal-fired power plants to become sites for renewable energy, Bloomberg reported.

Eskom told Fin24 its funding plan incorporates finance from both DFIs and multilateral banks. It said its funding plans would also cover social elements of these clean energy projects, as part of its Just Energy Transition (JET) strategy.

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African nations need to spend about $15.7 billion on their refineries to curb emissions and meet climate-change targets as demand for oil and gas surges, according to an industry lobby group.

Governments on the continent should focus on reducing sulfur levels in petroleum products because Africa’s consumption of fossil fuels will rise quickly in the coming decades even as the supply of clean energy expands, said Anibor Kragha, executive secretary of the African Refiners and Distributors Association, or ARDA. The pan-African body, based in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital of Abidjan, promotes the interests of the downstream oil industry.

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As Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other oil majors begin divestment of their investments in Nigeria following a growing appetite for cleaner and more environmentally-friendly energy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Monday listed various issues that have to be exhaustively addressed before their exit to avoid fracturing the Nigerian economy in hurried exodus.

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With its growing petroleum products demands and huge population growth over the next two decades, Africa must first focus on cleaner transport and cooking fuels to reduce air pollution and avert public health issues before embarking on global Net Zero Emissions (NZE) energy transition plans, according to the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA).

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Energy and climate policies made in the halls of Brussels or Washington have a profound impact elsewhere. This is particularly applicable to Africa.

The continent’s oil and gas producers are facing a tough future and they need help from both the outside world and within their own countries to continue.

Nigeria and Angola dominate Sub-Saharan petroleum output. A string of moderate-sized producers are mostly seeing declining production, such as the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, South Sudan, Ghana, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and others.

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The African Energy Chamber (AEC) (www.EnergyChamber.org) is excited to announce that Mr. Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary of the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) will attend and participate at Africa’s premier energy event, African Energy Week (AEW) 2021. Representing the only pan-African organization for Africa’s downstream oil sector, Mr. Kragha is expected to drive the discussion around the need for a unique African energy transition plan, emphasizing the role that clean fuels and targeted financing play in both Africa’s downstream oil sector and overall energy future.

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Worldwide, the ugly consequences of a warming planet are rearing their heads. Many countries are increasing efforts to decarbonise their energy systems in a bid to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. But the path to decarbonisation is complex, requiring a unique approach from each country.

Take sub-Saharan Africa’s energy systems, which are currently patchy and often unreliable. Many countries’ reliance on fossil fuels has led policymakers to suggest that fossil fuel systems should either be banned or indirectly discouraged through imposing a carbon tax. But, given that greener forms of energy exist in tandem with fossil fuel systems across the continent, this approach might harm rather than help efforts to fight climate change.

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The African Energy Chamber has called for the region's countries to boycott companies shunning the continent's fossil fuels sector as part of net-zero ambitions, highlighting the growing concern of energy-hungry African nations over the shift to clean energy by most Western producers.

African oil and gas investment has fallen sharply in the past few years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy transition away from oil and gas. The outlook for this sector in Africa is looking bleak, as many of the big international energy companies are starting to reduce their upstream footprints and funding sources for smaller oil and gas players dries up.

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The African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) has said it will cost the continent about $7.5 billion to exit the use of outdated fuel sources like firewood and charcoal and embrace modern, cleaner energy.

ARDA, which made the disclosure at a recent virtual sustainable financing workshop, noted that there was need to harmonise fuel specifications as well as Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) considerations to reduce the looming public health and environmental impacts on Africa’s citizens.

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Over the past three decades, Angola has proven to be a tier one destination for major oil and gas producers. It is for that reason, that the country is host to all major International Oil Companies. As the world continues to debate what energy transition means and what the implications would be, Angola, like many other major oil producers will have to reaccess their oil and gas industry and ist potential to continue being a leading destination for energy investments. Offshore exploration, especially during the boom years of 2002 to 2008, led to oil production in Angola reaching close to 2 million barrels per day, providing Angola with much-needed resources for its post-conflict reconstruction.

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Finance and energy experts have said there are options that might enable Africa to finance oil and gas projects despite campaign against fossil fuels.

The experts also emphasized the need to focus on cleaner, harmonised fuel specifications as well as environment, social and governance (ESG) considerations to reduce the looming public health and environmental impacts on Africa’s citizens while boosting cross-border trade of petroleum products under the implementation of the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

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South African state power utility Eskom, Africa's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, is pitching a $10 billion plan to global lenders that would see it shut the vast majority of its coal-fired plants by 2050 and embrace renewable energy.

Discussions have already started with development finance institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank, a senior Eskom official told Reuters.

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Launched on 1 January the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating.

The pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at $3.4 trillion. It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty but achieving its full potential will depend on putting in place significant policy reforms and trade facilitation measures.

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Nigeria’s environment minister warned Wednesday that an international push to stop funding for gas projects in sub-Saharan Africa is threatening the region’s ability to decarbonize in a fair way.

Speaking during a virtual ministerial event on energy, hosted by the United Nations, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said several wealthier nations “have gas as a major pillar in their multidecade decarbonization.”

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Over the last decade, the journey to replace fossil fuels with cleaner sustainable energy has been moving at glacial speed. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated the trend, it has also made it obvious that we weren’t moving fast enough. The year 2020 was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Countries and companies are rushing to cut carbon emissions, boost clean energy and transform the way we live; even in the most unlikely quarters, the world is getting behind the energy transition. In simple terms, the world energy order, which has been predicated on oil, is fast changing direction. 

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