Eni-led Congo LNG project remains a part of Congo's gas monetisation initiatives. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The Republic of Congo will be advancing its gas agenda at Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2025 Forum in Paris during the session, 'Monetising Congo’s Gas Opportunities'

Moderated by Geraud Moussarie, managing partner at Sustainable Partnerships, the session will emphasise Congo's strategy on scaling up gas production with proper infrastructure for commercialisation to supply both domestic and foreign markets. Participants comprising the session will include senior representatives from Congo’s national oil company, Societe nationale des petroles du Congo (SNPC); Rus Jiri, sales and development director Africa at Neuman & Esser, and Oumar Semega, CEO of Imperatus Energy. 

With a liquefaction capacity of up to 3 mn tons per year, the Eni-led Congo LNG project remains the most impactful of the region's latest industry advances as it puts Congo on a favourable position in tapping the vast export market. 

In the domestic front, the Banga Kayo onshore project, led by Wing Wah, is exemplary for its sustainable nature as it will convert flared gas into dry gas, LNG, LPG and polypropylene for commercial use. Strengthening local value chains and gas infrastructure development will drive the New Gas Code that is expected this year, besides the already-implemented Gas Master Plan.

IAE 2025 will be taking place from 13-14 May.

Atlantic Africa Pipeline project is worth US$25bn. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The United States and China have announced their interests for investments in US$25bn Atlantic Africa Pipeline project 

Previously known as the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, the increasing international attention marks a turning point for this strategic venture in 2025. 

“The principal areas of interest include American investments in Nigeria’s natural gas sector, particularly the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline, given the country’s vast gas reserves,” said Nigerian Finance Minister Wale Edun during the IMF and World Bank Spring 2025 meetings in Washington.

Chinese industrial giant Jingye Group has already announced its participation through its British subsidiary, Jingye British Steel, which will supply steel for the pipeline’s construction.

Commissioning by 2029

Amina Benkhadra, Director General of Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), confirmed significant acceleration in development, with the first sections expected to be progressively commissioned by 2029.

The project has undergone extensive engineering studies that support its commercial feasibility, in line with international standards.

In Morocco, the land section will connect Dakhla to the Maghreb-Europe network near Ouezzane, according to ONHYM’s 2025 action plan. The country has initiated a US$6bn tender to develop its gas infrastructure and connect its network to the Atlantic Africa Pipeline. The platform will play a key role in transporting natural gas and green hydrogen between Africa and Europe, supporting energy transitions at various scales.

Moroccan Energy Minister Leila Benali said that feasibility and FEED studies have been completed for the pipeline. She emphasised the projects' aim to tap into the global LNG market early on. 

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Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project sees fresh set of MoUs since 2022

Nigeria makes West Africa the hub of LNG production. (Image source: Rystad Energy)

With Africa continuing to increasingly focus on natural gas production as a greener alternative to oil production, this is high time the continent steps up to have its natural gas infrastructure in place 

Energy intelligence firm, Rystad Energy, has predicted that with gas demand set to see an upsurge, the global production count of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is likely to reach 755 Mtpa in 2030 from last year's 486 Mtpa. 

The demand will also be driven by the fact that not all regions are equipped with good production capacities or pipelines access.

This, however, is not the case for Africa which hosts about 20% of the 477 Mtpa total —around 93 Mtpa— of global LNG capacity in the pipeline. These include under-construction projects, confirmed final investment decision (FID) or pre-FID. 

In fact, the testatment to Africa's significance in the global gas market lies in its attracting the highest concentration of FLNG infrastructure in the world. It currently hosts an onshore LNG production capacity of approximately 70 Mtpa, accounting for around 14% of the global total.

Nigeria leading LNG production count

While Rystad Energy has found that Nigeria leads these statistics by almost half the continent's total LNG production count, the country still struggles to reach its full potential owing to vandalism and theft-related challenges. Its annual liquefaction rates have taken a hit from an average of 90% in 2018 to 60% last year. 

With the right installations such as  floating LNG (FLNG) and smaller-scale mini-LNG projects, Nigeria's exports capacity can rise 20 million tonnes (Mt) by 2030. 

Nigeria makes West Africa the hub of LNG production, making up nearly two-thirds of the sub-Saharan Africa's output and more than one-third of the continent’s total. West Africa's LNG production count is set to reach 50% by 2030. 

"Nigeria has consistently ranked among the top LNG producers globally, despite export volumes being much smaller than those of the US, Australia and Qatar. Nigerian LNG, which is positioned outside the ongoing US tariff war, offers crucial flexibility for Asian and European buyers thanks to its strategic location and shorter transit times compared to US LNG exports. However, ongoing pipeline vandalism and oil theft continue to hinder Nigeria’s ability to fully capitalise on its resources. While we expect Nigeria's LNG exports to recover, they are unlikely to place the country among the top five global exporters in the near future," said Antonia Syn, analyst - commodities markets, Rystad Energy. 

Exports begin from GTA Phase 1. (Image source: bp)

The deepest offshore development in Africa, GTA in Mauritania and Senegal generated the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for bp to be sent for export markets

First gas had flown from the GTA Phase 1 project earlier this year. 

A project considered of strategic national importance, GTA Phase 1 boasts gas resources of approximately 2.4 mn tonnes of LNG per year of which considerable gas volumes are allocated for the domestic markets in both countries.

“This is a very proud day for Mauritania and Senegal. Throughout the development of this project, we have built strong relationships with the project’s host governments, local communities and our partners, and we look forward to strengthening these in years to come as we continue ongoing operations,” said Dave Campbell, bp's senior vice president for Mauritania and Senegal.

This first cargo of LNG at GTA is the third upstream major project start-up of the year for bp. These are the first of 10 expected by the end of 2027, in line with bp’s strategy of growing its upstream oil and gas business.

“This first cargo from Mauritania and Senegal marks a significant new supply for global energy markets. Starting exports from GTA Phase 1 is an important step for bp and our oil and gas business as we celebrate the creation of a new production hub within our global portfolio.

“This is the culmination of years of work from the entire project and operations teams – congratulations to all who were involved in safely reaching this landmark. I would also like to thank the governments of Mauritania and Senegal, and our partners – Kosmos Energy, PETROSEN and SMH – for their ongoing support and collaboration,” said Gordon Birrell, executive vice president, production & operations.

The first shipment of LNG was transferred to a carrier from the project’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel located 10 kilometres offshore, where the natural gas had been cryogenically cooled, liquefied and stored.