The Chronicle
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
AFRICA must strive to increase natural gas production, which is critical in driving growth in gas demand in the continent.
This emerged during the International Roundtable meeting titled “The Benefits of Natural Gas for the Population and the Economy”, which was held on Friday in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event took place under the auspices of the African Energy Chamber with support from Gazprom.
The participants discussed the role of natural gas in the sustainable development of Africa and noted that most countries on the African continent are still facing the problem of energy availability and their energy consumption is several times below the world average.
At the same time, according to expert estimates, Africa will generate over 60 percent of the global population growth by 2050.
Taking into account the current urbanisation trend, the region is expected to experience significant economic growth, which will be accompanied by a two-fold increase in energy consumption. In particular, the demand for natural gas will increase by 2,5 times.
The participants at the Roundtable discussed the benefits of using natural gas and they noted that the use of gas will contribute much to reducing air pollution.
The potential role of gas in solving the food problem was also highlighted at the event as a valuable raw material for the production of fertilisers, which makes it possible to significantly increase crop yields.
Africa and the world at large are working on the elimination of energy sources that contribute to air pollution and destruction of the ozone layer, which is the main cause of climate change.
Therefore, governments and development organisations are investing much in renewable energy, which includes solar, wind, hydro and geothermal sources.
Presentations were delivered at the Roundtable by the representatives of Gazprom and the Gazprom group companies, namely, Gazprom Gazifikatsiya, Gazprom Energoholding, and Gazprom Helium
Service who also highlighted that: “Wider use of natural gas will help Africa solve a number of problems, from economic to social and environmental ones”.
“We are confident that it is essential for Africa to discover all the advantages brought about by this type of fuel.”
The African Energy Chamber is the voice of the African energy sector and the continent’s largest organisation that brings together energy market players from Africa and from all over the world.
Its main objective is to promote the continent’s energy development. The African Energy Chamber is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Taking part in the Roundtable were Ilya Rogachev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the SAR and concurrently to the Kingdom of Lesotho, Dmitry Khandoga, head of department at Gazprom, NJ Ayuk, chairman of the African Energy Chamber, as well as representatives of business communities, experts and journalists from nine African countries: Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania. — @SikhulekelaniM1
