Crude Oil Trade & Investment in Africa
Zadak Groups has used its expertise in the oil and gas sector to bolster the continent’s economy and improved the wellbeing of the citizenry.
Historically, Africa has suffered from conflicts due to uneven redistribution of crude oil revenue and severe environmental pollution.
Advancements in geophysical survey techniques, such as magnetic and gravity methods, to seismic methods, have made the commercial exploration of crude oil possible for some other countries in Africa apart from Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt.
The occurrence of organic-rich, oil-prone Type I, II, and mixed II/III kerogens in sedimentary basins and entrapment within reservoir rocks with intrinsic petrophysical properties are majorly responsible for the large deposits of hydrocarbon in Africa.
Oil and Gas Challenges and Opportunities in Africa
As the oil price recovers, however, there are signs that explorers are getting ready to look further afield in Africa, to frontier areas and new countries, spurred partly by continuing economic growth on the continent.
Average GDP growth for Africa reached an estimated 3.5% in 2018, and is projected to accelerate to 4% in 2019 and 4.1% in 2020.
There are also signs that political change is underway in many countries, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which experienced its first post-independence democratic transition of power late last year, and Ethiopia, which is making great strides towards democracy.
Another cause for regional optimism is the ongoing trade talks towards continental political and economic integration, promising to facilitate frictionless trade and bring economic benefits to all.
With economic growth will come an increased demand for energy, and a number of countries are looking to capitalize on that by encouraging exploration companies to their part of Africa through bidding rounds, either underway already or due to open in the near future.
Optimistic Future for Gas Product in Africa
Global gas consumption rose by 5.3% between 2017 and 2018, one of the fastest growth rates since the 1980s, largely driven by the US, China, Russia and Iran.
Africa’s gas production, meanwhile, grew by 8% in 2017, primarily due to the discovery of large fields like Egypt’s Zohr, which alone could meet half that country’s demand.
This growth in gas production is expected to continue as demand increases, particularly through gas-to-power initiatives throughout the continent. Rapid increases in population, particularly in gas-producing countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana, is one of the key drivers for this growth.
