Two West African economic giants Nigeria and Ghana, are going to dominate sub-Saharan Africa’s oil and gas industry, which stands at a decisive turning point that will reshape the continent’s hydrogen carbon destiny.
According to a new report by Deloitte on West African Oil and Gas Outlook, Nigeria and Ghana will account for approximately 60% and 20% of a potential market worth $80bn, stating that the continent’s oil industry could grow at a compound annual rate of 6.5% between 2025 and 2032.
“From Nigeria’s hydrocarbon-rich delta to Angola’s offshore blocks and the gas reserve in East Africa’s rift valley, the region is rethinking how to balance energy equity, security, and sustainability in an era of global transition,” said analysts at Deloitte.
The Nigerian government’s efforts in curbing pipeline vandalism and corruption in its upstream sector appear to be yielding fruit as crude oil production has improved to 1.5 million barrels per day as at December 2024, higher than peer rival Angola’s 1.1 million bpd.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has carried out some painful reforms such as the removal of expensive fuel subsidies and liberalisation of the foreign exchange, which it expects will spur economic growth.
However, such copious investments and policies have, so far, tipped millions of people into poverty.
A recent World Bank report has stated that 139 million people live in poverty even as the Bank is skeptical whether the government has started dishing out the stipend from the subsidy removal.
“The next chapter of West Africa’s energy sector isn’t just about output. It’s about balance. Balancing growth with equity, production with sustainability, and local benefit with global relevance,” said the Deloitte report.
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