Africa Requires Unified Infrastructure and Capital Strategy to Unlock It’s Energy Security – Ojulari

With more than 600 million Africans still without access to electricity and the continent facing an estimated $100 billion annual energy financing gap, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has called for a structural reset in how African nations approach energy security.

Speaking during a high-level fireside chat at the 2026 International Energy Week (IEW) in London, Ojulari argued that Africa’s energy future will not be secured by isolated national strategies, but by shared infrastructure, aligned policy frameworks, and coordinated capital mobilisation among National Oil Companies (NOCs).

According to Environment Africa analysis, despite holding nearly 7% of global proven gas reserves, Africa accounts for less than 4% of global energy investment flows, underscoring the disconnect between resource potential and capital deployment.

Infrastructure Fragmentation Is Costing Africa Scale

Ojulari pointed to ongoing regional gas initiatives — including the proposed Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline and expansion of the West African Gas Pipeline — as examples of how shared infrastructure can unlock scale and efficiency.

He stressed that cross-border pipelines, integrated gas markets and shared transmission systems could reduce duplication costs, strengthen resilience, and accelerate industrial growth across the continent.

Energy analysts note that intra-African energy trade remains below 20%, far behind other regions, largely due to fragmented infrastructure and regulatory inconsistencies.

Policy Misalignment Is Increasing Investment Risk

Beyond infrastructure, Ojulari warned that regulatory inconsistencies across African markets continue to deter long-term capital. He advocated for:

• Harmonised pricing frameworks
• Coordinated transit protocols
• Unified local content standards
• Joint technical regulations

Drawing from reforms under Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), he argued that regulatory clarity and predictability remain fundamental to unlocking cross-border investment.

Recent policy tracking shows that investors rank regulatory stability as one of the top three determinants for upstream capital allocation in emerging markets.

Collective Capital Platforms Over Isolated Financing

Perhaps the most consequential element of Ojulari’s remarks was his call for structured joint investment platforms among African NOCs.

“Africa can attract and deploy capital more effectively when acting collectively rather than individually,” he stated.

With global upstream investment tightening amid energy transition pressures, African producers face mounting competition for capital. Analysts estimate that upstream investment in Africa declined by nearly 20% over the last decade, even as energy demand continues to rise.

Ojulari’s proposal signals a potential shift toward pooled financing vehicles, regional risk-sharing mechanisms, and coordinated project pipelines — strategies that could improve Africa’s bargaining power in global capital markets.

Gas as Industrial Backbone

Reaffirming NNPC Ltd’s ambition to raise oil output and scale gas production, Ojulari positioned gas as the backbone of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.

“Our pathway is clear: grow production responsibly, scale gas as the backbone of Africa’s industrialisation, strengthen environmental accountability, and align with global decarbonisation objectives — while ensuring that Africans are not left behind in the energy transition,” he said.

Africa currently contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions but faces disproportionate climate vulnerability — a dynamic that continues to shape its transition narrative.

The Bigger Question

Ojulari’s intervention arrives at a critical moment.

As global capital shifts toward transition-aligned investments, and as Africa’s population approaches 1.5 billion by 2030, the continent’s ability to coordinate infrastructure, policy and financing frameworks may determine whether its vast gas reserves become catalysts for development — or stranded assets.

The question now is whether African NOCs and governments can move from rhetoric to implementation fast enough to close the energy access gap and industrial deficit.