Africa is emerging as a major player in the global natural gas and LNG market, driven by a shift in energy buyers away from the Strait of Hormuz. The African Energy Chamber forecasts that the continent’s upstream sector will attract approximately $40 billion annually through 2030, boosting hydrocarbon output to 12.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboe/d). Countries like Mozambique, Nigeria, Angola, Libya, and Ivory Coast are leading this surge, while new projects in Uganda, Kenya, and Namibia are expanding the production base.
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is becoming a key destination for natural gas investments, offering large reserves outside Middle Eastern chokepoints. Fitch predicts that SSA’s LNG exports will nearly triple to 98 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2034, up from 35.7 bcm in 2024. The continent’s natural gas demand is also expected to grow by 60% by 2050, driven by infrastructure development and floating LNG (FLNG) deployment.
Mozambique is at the forefront of this growth, with major projects like TotalEnergies’ $20 billion Mozambique LNG project and Eni’s $7.2 billion Coral North FLNG project. ExxonMobil has also doubled its stake in the $30 billion Rovuma LNG megaproject. Nigeria is advancing its Decade of Gas initiative, with the Nigeria LNG’s Train 7 expansion set to increase capacity to 30 million tons per annum (MTPA) from 2027. Meanwhile, Namibia’s Orange Basin is seeing significant activity, with TotalEnergies targeting a development based on a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Tanzania is making progress on its $42 billion LNG project in Lindi, backed by a consortium including Equinor, Shell, and ExxonMobil. The country also recently discovered 223 billion cubic feet of gas in the Mnazi Bay area, with over 80% already used for power generation. These developments highlight Africa’s growing role in the global energy landscape, driven by infrastructure expansion and strategic investments.