The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has urged the World Bank to end its ban on financing upstream oil and gas projects, and align its funding interventions with Africa’s urgent need to eradicate energy poverty and achieve sustainable development.
The leading energy advocacy group stated that lifting this ban was essential to unlocking the continent’s hydrocarbon resources, delivering reliable and affordable electricity to millions, and generating the revenues required to support Africa’s long-term energy transition.
A news report from the African Press Organisation (APO) Group distributed on behalf of the AEC on the call for the multilateral finance institution to end its ban on hydrocarbon resources industry’s funding indicated that while the Chamber welcomed the World Bank’s decision to review its 2017 ban on financing upstream oil and gas development, the time for reassessment was long overdue, and decisive action had become imperative.
The news report showed that today, around 600 million Africans still lacked access to electricity – a number that is not only staggering but growing even as the International Energy Agency (IEA) had noted that gains made in expanding electricity access were reversed during the pandemic, with up to 30 million people who previously had access no longer able to afford it.
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The AEC pointed out that this deepening energy poverty had been undermining Africa’s industrialization, economic growth and social development.
The Chamber maintained that Africa must be empowered to grow its energy mix pragmatically, using both fossil fuels and renewables – not forced into an “all or nothing” approach that risks leaving hundreds of millions in the dark.
In addition, it stated that natural gas offered a scalable, affordable and lower-carbon solution that can help meet the continent’s immediate power needs while enabling a just, inclusive energy transition, adding that yet climate panic and fear-mongering, which is often directed disproportionately at Africa, a continent responsible for just 3% of global CO₂ emissions, are threatening to block this path.
Commenting on the ugly situation, Executive Chairman of the AEC, NJ Ayuk, clarified: “The green agenda and the World Bank’s ban on upstream financing ignore the fact that natural gas can bring life-changing prosperity to Africa through jobs, business growth and monetization.
“We are proposing a logical, sustainable path: using our natural gas to meet current needs, generate revenue and fund our transition to renewables. Given that universal access to affordable, reliable electricity is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the growing number of Africans without power is morally wrong and must not be ignored”, the foremost industry advocate added.
Available data showed that the upstream oil and gas development had been demonstrating its capacity to advance energy access. For instance, in Mozambique, domestic gas fuels the 450 MW Temane gas-to-power project, delivering electricity to communities and industries.
This is even as Senegal’s gas-to-power efforts, Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan and Egypt’s expanded gas-fired generation are highlighting how these resources are driving regional electrification and economic growth. Future upstream projects hold transformative potential.
AEC further revealed that Mozambique’s gas reserves could generate over $100 billion in revenue; Namibia’s oil discoveries could deliver $3.5 billion annually at peak production, which can fund infrastructure, education, healthcare and clean energy investments.
Meanwhile, global financial trends are shifting as major banks, particularly in the U.S., are easing ESG-related restrictions and resuming oil and gas financing, recognizing that natural gas remains a vital bridge fuel.
The Chamber insisted the World Bank must do the same – not as a concession, but as a commitment to its mandate to promote shared prosperity and reduce poverty, urging the bank to turn its policy review into meaningful action.
It maintained: “Supporting upstream oil and gas development is not only an economic necessity – it is a moral imperative if we are serious about ending energy poverty and enabling a sustainable, equitable future for Africa.”
