Coal, Oil & Gas News South Africa

#AOP2019: Africa must be unapologetic about oil & gas

Oil and gas are crucial for Africa's economic development, and the continent shouldn't have to apologise for exploiting these resources, said Gabriel Obiang Lima, Equatorial Guinea's minister of mining and hydrocarbons.
Gabriel Obiang Lima
Gabriel Obiang Lima

Speaking at the Africa Oil and Power conference in Cape Town, the minister said that he almost cancelled his trip to South Africa after seeing reports that the country was unsafe. “Sometimes we are influenced by what other people say.”

Similarly, he explained that despite the global push to renewable energy – and the abundance of wind and solar -, Africa needs oil and gas to build infrastructure and create jobs.

“Oil and gas is good for Africa. I will repeat it again, oil and gas is good for Africa. The key reason is that Africa is less responsible for global warming than the rest of the world.

“I am realistic. Global warming is real. But to tell Africans not to develop their resources is very unfair.”

Lima added that it is not the producers that are responsible for global warming, but the consumers. “They still want their three cars and their plastic bags. We have to educate the consumers.”

“The future of resources for Africa is gas. The market is there. Our biggest problem is we don’t have the infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG). That’s why we need to develop small-scale regasification plants,” Lima said.

About Nicci Botha

Nicci Botha has been wordsmithing for more than 20 years, covering just about every subject under the sun and then some. She's strung together words on sustainable development, maritime matters, mining, marketing, medical, lifestyle... and that elixir of life - chocolate. Nicci has worked for local and international media houses including Primedia, Caxton, Lloyd's and Reuters. Her new passion is digital media.
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