Uche Cecil Izuora
The Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), has identified huge hydrocarbon reserves in Africa as capable of transforming the Continent’s economy and providing the people with greater access to prosperity.
The Group however said this can be accelerated through purposeful action as it urged energy operators, investors, governments and regulators in the Continent to build the conviction and coalition needed to convert the continent’s vast hydrocarbon resources into investment, jobs, development and dignity for host communities.
Speaking at the opening of Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2026 in Accra, Ghana, IPPG Chairman and Managing Director/CEO of Aradel Holdings Plc, Mr. Adegbite Falade, said Africa stands at a defining moment. He
described the continent’s energy challenge as a fundamental drawback to development, noting close to 600 million Africans remain without access to electricity and nearly one billion people still relying on wood and charcoal for cooking, with attendant health risks.
Mr. Falade noted that Africa holds significant hydrocarbon potential, much of which is still undiscovered, with more than 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and upward of 620 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, representing roughly 9% and 8% percent of global crude oil and natural gas reserves respectively. Yet, despite this geological abundance, Africa’s share of global exploration spending and upstream capital deployment remains disproportionately low, at approximately 6%:
‘This gap between endowment and investment is the single largest opportunity before us.’
Citing Nigeria as a case study, he highlighted the transformation of the indigenous oil and gas sector, noting that indigenous operators, who accounted for less than 1 per cent of national production just over three decades ago, now contribute over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil and gas output.
Indigenous operators he said, have demonstrated world-class technical and operational competence and assets that were in managed decline have returned to the path of growth.
He applauded the Federal Government’s role in the emergence of stronger indigenous Exploration & Production companies, citing deliberate policies and the sustained enforcement of local content requirements under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD Act), the structural clarity provided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021) and series of the Executive Orders issued by President Tinubu.
Mr. Falade observed the pattern is repeating itself across the continent, and urged African nations to harness their resources expediently:
‘The window to monetise these resources is fast narrowing. The lesson is clear: if Africa does not move decisively to explore, invest, and produce today, the opportunity to transform our economies through our natural wealth will pass us by. ‘
Under IPPG’s vision of “Collaboration for Energy Prosperity”, Mr. Falade identified five priorities for accelerating Africa’s energy growth: strengthening the Africa Energy Bank to look inwards for financial security, expanding gas infrastructure to promote energy security, deepening regional integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), deploying gas and renewables together to close Africa’s energy access gap and power industrialisation, and building Africa’s technical and human capacity through training, secondments, academies and technology transfer.
He advised governments to provide fiscal stability, faster approvals and contract sanctity, while calling on financiers and insurers to assess African opportunities based on evidence rather than outdated perceptions of risk. Mr. Falade concluded with a call for collective action across governments, indigenous operators, investors and international partners:
“We have the geology. We increasingly have the operators. What we must now build is the conviction — and the coalition — to convert.”