Summit Plans Review of Energy Projects In Nigeria

In a bid to reduce energy
crisis facing many African countries, sixteen of the continent’s most bankable energy projects would be reviewed by industry players at the forthcoming “Global Africa Investment Summit this month.
Amongst the projects to be presented at the Summit billed to be held in London on October 20 and 21 are: Ghana’s renewable energy projects, Rwanda’s methane and hydro power projects, Kenya’s biofuel projects, and Nigeria’s gas-fired project.
The summit which is to be chaired by former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, seeks to direct funds from some of the world’s largest institutional investors into projects across the continent, according to a statement by ‘Africa Practice’.
Africa’s rapid economic development has meant that energy development has not kept pace with rising demand in developing regions, placing a large strain on the continent’s existing resources over the first decade of the 21st century, the statement said.
World Bank has declared that 25 of the 52 nations on the continent are in an energy crisis. During the period from 1995 to 2013, the region performed strongly, with an annual average GDP growth rate of 4.5 per cent.
Excluding South Africa, the entire installed generation capacity of Sub-Saharas Africa is only 28 gigawatts, equivalent to that of Argentina.
The Chairman of Seplat, Dr. ABC Orjiako, who will be speaking at the event said, ‘there is no region with the same investment prospects that Africa presents, especially in the extractive, infrastructure and services industries.
“Because of the infrastructure gap in the continent and growing domestic demand, we find that there is huge potential for investment in the energy market”.
The variety of energy players that will be presented at TGAIS reflects the current energy demands of the continent. They include oil and gas, liquefied natural gas and renewable energy companies, notably Globeleq, Seplat, Greenheart Energy, Sepco and Mozambique LNG among others, to meet all of Africa’s energy demand.
The co-ordinator for President Barack Obama’s Power Africa and trade Africa initiatives, Andrew Herscowitz, will be speaking on the power sector panel, “Powering Africa: Opportunities and Financing Options In Africa’s Power  Sector”.