Gas for Africa report 2023

This report assesses key drivers, potential, barriers, and solutions of developing natural gas value chains in Africa to fight energy poverty and enable a just energy transition. In doing so, it looks at how gas can play a major role in delivering a secure and sustainable energy future for the continent economically, socially, and environmentally. Despite holding over 8% of the world’s proven reserves of natural gas, Africa remains the most energy-poor continent. Industries rely on expensive, inefficient, and polluting sources of energy, and hundreds of millions of households lack modern energy access. Instead of helping to meet growing domestic energy needs, the development of Africa’s abundant domestic gas resources has remained reserved mostly for the export market. While African gas has been fuelling economies and supporting decarbonisation and jobs abroad, most of the African continent has no access to infrastructure to benefit from its resources. Domestic gas markets remain under-developed or non-existent, especially south of the Sahara.