Energy Transition and Africa’s Oil and Gas Resources: Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Theophilus Acheampong is an economist and political risk analyst with over ten years’ experience working with governments, private investors, policy agencies and international organisations on natural resource governance and public financial management issues. He has worked as an independent consultant on over 50 projects in the global energy industry, particularly in upstream oil and gas, and in providing economic analysis and market research covering frontier emerging markets. His areas of specialisation include energy policy formulation, petroleum fiscal regime design and modelling, and taxation and investment analysis. Other areas include trade and investment promotion and financial analysis of public sector entities, including programming, data analysis and budgeting. Dr. Acheampong also specialises in analysing political and business risks in Sub-Saharan Africa. This includes producing forward-looking risk reports covering economic (sovereign, fiscal and monetary policy), legal (expropriation and contract risks) and operational risks (corruption and regulatory burden) for several global clients. Dr. Acheampong holds a PhD in economics and a Master of Science in petroleum, energy economics and finance from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He is an Associate Lecturer at The Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee. He is also an Associate Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow at the Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF), University of Aberdeen. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at Ghanaian Think Tank IMANI Centre for Policy and Education. Dr. Acheampong is quoted in several international media such as the BBC, Bloomberg, AFP, and CNBC, among others. He has written several book chapters and published in leading academic journals in a wide range of fields. He recently co-edited the book Petroleum Resource Management in Africa: Examining the Lessons from Ten Years of Oil and Gas Production in Ghana (Palgrave McMillan, 2022).

Pauline Anaman is a consultant with technical expertise in the law, economics, and governance of Africa’s energy and extractives industries (oil and gas, power including renewable energy, and mining). She is currently an External Advisor to the EU H2020 Negative Emissions (NEGEM) project; a €5.8 million project by a core group of scientists and a consortium of 16 partners across 11 European countries exploring negative emissions technology and practices, as well as scalability pathways. She is also a Net Zero expert to the Oxford Climate Alumni Network (OxCAN); an Oxford University alumni organisation dedicated to expertise sharing and collaborations to achieve a just transition to net zero emissions. Pauline previously held position of Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the Policy Unit at the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) where she led research, policy analyses, and evidence- based advocacy on diverse issues along the energy and extractives decision chain including contracting, fiscals, local content and economic linkages, public financial management, and gender-based budgeting. Over the years, Pauline has managed multiple donor projects, authored numerous technical papers, and spoken at various local and international platforms on matters affecting Africa’s energy and extractives industry. Currently training for the bar at the Ghana School of Law, Pauline has a multidisciplinary background in Law with specialisation in International Trade and Investment Law as well as Natural Resources Law (GIMPA, Ghana); Public Policy with specialisation in Economic Development: Political Foundations and Economic Strategies as well as Infrastructure Delivery (University of Oxford, UK); and Land Economy (KNUST, Ghana). She is also an alumna of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the U.S. Department of State (Energy Policy, Security, and Innovation).

This chapter critically analyses what the energy transition means to Africa’s developing oil and gas industry - assessing risks and opportunities. Some country case studies are provided on how petroleum-producing African countries are responding to the energy transition and compliance with Paris Agreement commitments. In addition, the potential for Africa's critical minerals to supply the needs of the energy transition are explored.