The Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), Omar Farouk Ibrahim, has said that nearly 75% of oil produced in Africa is exported to other continents for energy consumption.
Ibrahim made this disclosure during the Mozambique Energy and Industry Summit held in the southeastern African country.
The Secretary-General also said about 40% of the gas produced daily on the continent ends up in countries like Europe and America.
According to him, oil and gas are treated as export commodities from the moment they are discovered on the continent.
He noted that this is why the largest proportion of the African population continues to live in energy poverty because the continent focuses only on exporting oil and gas.
Ibrahim pointed out that nearly one billion of Africa’s 1.49 billion population lack access to clean energy for cooking and other domestic uses, adding that 600 million of the population do not have access to electricity.
The Secretary-General emphasized that only Africans can tackle the energy poverty challenges facing the continent.
He stated that the continent must develop the capacity, skills, resources, and technology to refine energy production and distribution, ensuring easy accessibility for its rapidly growing population.
According to Ibrahim, Africa holds 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and over 600 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, all of which can be utilized to eradicate energy poverty in the continent.
Moreover, he therefore urged oil-rich countries to partner together through credible financial institutions to fund infrastructural projects across the continent to drive energy development.
He also challenged countries to task foreign nations to channel climate funds to clean the mess they created in Africa by polluting the atmosphere with over 2,500 gigatons of emissions over a period of 150 years.