Africa’s next energy expansion cycle will be defined less by discovery and more by execution as governments and operators race to convert reserves into infrastructure, export capacity and long-term industrial growth. Across the continent, deepwater developments, LNG infrastructure and power investments are increasingly emerging as the real measure of competitiveness as capital providers shift focus toward delivery certainty, regulatory stability and monetization pathways.

This transition was a central theme during the State of African Energy 2026 Outlook webinar hosted by S&P Global and the African Energy Chamber (AEC), offering a detailed read on Africa’s upstream trajectory. The webinar, hosted by Vice President of the AEC Verner Ayukegba, brought together analysts from S&P Global to assess shifting investment flows, evolving project timelines and the principal risks shaping African energy markets.

Africa’s upstream oil and gas sector is entering a phase of stabilization, with production forecasts at 11.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026 and capital expenditure expected to reach $41 billion. Offshore deepwater remains the dominant growth driver, increasingly shaping long-term supply resilience as mature onshore basins face natural decline and higher reinvestment thresholds.

S&P Global’s Director for African Regional Research Justin Cochrane highlighted Africa’s structural under-exploration, noting that only around 25,000 wells have ever been drilled across the continent. He stressed that 74% of discoveries since 2010 have come from deepwater and ultra-deepwater plays, with gas accounting for 73% of total hydrocarbon finds. However, he cautioned that monetization remains uneven, with many frontier discoveries still lacking infrastructure or viable market access.

Natural gas is emerging as the central investment thesis for African energy development, increasingly positioned as both a transition fuel and an industrial enabler. LNG expansion, floating production solutions and domestic gas-to-power initiatives are reshaping the continent’s energy mix as global buyers compete for flexible, non-Russian supply and regional demand continues to grow.

Simon Wood, Head of EMEA Gas, LNG and Low Carbon Gases Consulting, S&P Global noted that global LNG supply growth is accelerated but stressed that Africa must focus on building integrated value chains rather than relying solely on resource availability. He said, “there is no shortage of gas potential in Africa,” but emphasized that regulatory certainty, infrastructure alignment and aggregation models are essential to de-risk projects and unlock financing at scale.

Energy access remains Africa’s most pressing structural challenge, with approximately 600 million people still lacking electricity and over 900 million without clean cooking access. At the same time, electricity demand is expected to grow by nearly 4% annually through 2030, driven by population growth, urbanization and emerging digital and industrial loads.

Rehan Burger, Associate Director for Global Power, S&P Global noted that renewables will dominate long-term capacity additions but warned that intermittency creates system-wide instability without flexible baseload support. He described gas as “system critical,” arguing it plays a stabilizing role in enabling renewable integration while ensuring reliability across grids that remain underdeveloped and highly fragmented.

Critical minerals are emerging as a parallel strategic pillar alongside hydrocarbons, with Africa holding roughly 30% of global reserves of key inputs such as cobalt, lithium and platinum group metals. These resources are becoming central to global electrification, battery supply chains and industrial decarbonization strategies.

Ross Embleton, Principal Consultant, S&P Global cautioned that Africa’s resource advantage alone is insufficient to guarantee value capture. He emphasized that success depends on investment conditions, governance stability and infrastructure readiness. “This opportunity is not automatic,” he noted, adding that beneficiation strategies in countries such as Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo will determine whether Africa transitions from exporter of raw materials to industrial producer.

The 2026 Middle East crisis has introduced a severe external shock to global energy markets, disrupting nearly 10 million barrels per day of supply following particle closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rising about $110 has triggered demand destruction, inflationary pressure and widespread supply chain realignment across importing countries.

The situation is the largest oil disruption in history, according to S&P Global’s Director and Head of African Fuels and Refining Research Stanislas Drochon, who warned that Africa is disproportionately exposed due to high import dependence and limited strategic inventories. He noted that trade flows are already shifting, with countries such as South Africa increasing imports while accelerating efforts to diversify supply routes and strengthen regional resilience.

Across all segments, the Outlook reinforces a structural transition from resource discovery toward capital-intensive execution. Africa’s primary constraint in 2026 is no longer subsurface potential, but rather the ability to deliver infrastructure, regulatory clarity and coordinated financing at scale to convert reserves into sustained production.