02-12-04

Exporting to the West was only part of the solution for Africa's surplus of natural gas, much of which was flared for lack of a market, said panellists at the Corporate Council on Africa's Oil and Gas Forum. While prospects of growing exports would probably end flaring, Jacob Broekhuijsen of the World Bank said producer nations must find more use for the resource than shipping it away.
"Radical new policies are required to reduce energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, and domestic market reforms are needed to create conditions that attract investment," he said.

Ready access to massive deposits of natural gas could change the lives of many of the half billion people in sub-Saharan Africa who had no access to electricity, he said, with plenty left for export to power-hungry developed nations.
"Flaring in Africa alone could produce more than twice the level of current power consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa," he said.

Establishing a gas-fired power grid in one of the poorest areas on the planet came with an estimated $ 2.1 tn (R 12.27 tn) price tag over the next 30 years, Broekhuijsen said, reminding the audience that when he said "radical" he meant it.
‘Demola Adeyemi-Bero, Shell's business director for Africa, agreed it would be healthy if nations rich in natural gas could mix the uses of a fuel that until recently has been a nuisance in the pursuit of oil. Traditionally, he said, gas had been flared or exported. Two new uses -- electric power and petroleum products -- must be grown if the nations ever hoped to build sustainable economies.

Source: Business Report