Uche Cecil Izuora
The International Energy Agency (IEA), says Nigeria tops African continent’s largest energy investment destinations despite a prolonged decline in upstream spending among its biggest oil and gas producers.
The Agency says Nigeria holds biggest investment share as Africa’s total energy investment is projected to reach $110 billion in 2026.
The IEA in its World Energy Investment 2026 report, said the continent continues to attract just 3.3 per cent of global energy investment despite accounting for about 20 per cent of the world’s population.
The report noted that while spending remains heavily dominated by fossil fuels, investor interest is increasingly extending to power generation, critical minerals and transport electrification as African countries seek to diversify their energy mix and strengthen energy security.
According to the IEA, investment remains concentrated in Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and Libya, with the five countries accounting for about 70 per cent of Africa’s energy investment.
However, the report noted that investment in those countries has fallen significantly over the last decade, declining from $50 billion in 2016 to $25 billion in 2025, reflecting weaker upstream spending among the continent’s traditional oil and gas producers.
Overall upstream investment across Africa, it said, stood at $37 billion in 2025, down from $68 billion recorded in 2016. Despite the decline, Nigeria remains central to Africa’s oil and gas investment outlook.
The agency added that upstream oil and gas investment in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rebound by 12 per cent to almost $24 billion in 2026 following an 18 per cent decline in 2025, with Nigeria expected to remain among the key beneficiaries through ongoing LNG and offshore developments.
The IEA noted that liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments continue in Nigeria and Mozambique, supported by a mix of international oil companies and indigenous firms, while Nigeria is also advancing deepwater oil projects in partnership with major operators.
The report indicated that capital is increasingly flowing towards emerging producers including Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal and Uganda, where investment has risen steadily since 2016 as investors pursue new frontier opportunities.
According to the Agency, investment in Africa’s critical minerals sector reached $10 billion in 2024, although activity remains concentrated in the production of copper, cobalt and graphite.
The report identified inadequate infrastructure, electricity shortages and limited water supply are deeply constraining refining and downstream processing across the continent, preventing many African countries from capturing greater value from their mineral resources.
The report also highlighted the scale of Africa’s energy access challenge, estimating that about 590 million people on the continent still lack access to electricity, while nearly one billion people do not have access to clean cooking solutions.
According to the IEA, addressing these deficits will require significantly higher investment across electricity networks, clean cooking technologies and renewable energy infrastructure if African countries are to meet their development objectives.
The global energy body however observed encouraging signs in the transport sector, noting that electrification is gradually gathering pace, particularly in East Africa, where supportive government policies and the growing presence of Asian electric vehicle manufacturers are helping accelerate adoption.
The report further projected energy investment to rise to a record $3.4 trillion in 2026 despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Of this amount, about $2.2 trillion will be directed towards clean energy technologies, electricity networks, storage, efficiency and electrification, almost double the amount expected to be invested in fossil fuels.
The IEA stressed that although investment in clean energy continues to outpace spending on oil, gas and coal globally, Africa’s ability to participate more fully in the transition will depend on improving access to affordable finance, strengthening infrastructure and creating policy environments capable of attracting long-term private capital.