Data shows that 75% of the oil that Africa produces is exported outside Africa. The figure for gas is 45%. Furthermore, the largest proportion of the Africa’s population is living without access to modern energy.
We have been made to believe that our people are too poor to buy energy and so we produce energy for rich countries, while our people remain in perpetual poverty. For a continent with about a billion people without access to energy, it is most misleading to say that there is no market.
There is a huge market waiting to be developed. And it is the responsibilities of our policy makers to help develop that market. That explains APPO’s partnership with the Central Africa Business Energy Forum, CABEF, and Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, to have the Central Africa Pipeline System, CAPS, a comprehensive pipeline system that on completion shall connect 11 central African states by gas, products and crude.
Last year the CEMAC Secretariat approved the project for the consideration of the Summit of CEMAC Heads of State. In addition to the CAPS project, APPO is also promoting cross border energy infrastructure projects among its Member Countries. For example the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo are looking into connecting their pipeline infrastructure.
A couple of years ago we faciliateted the resumption of talks on the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline linking three of our Member Countries. We will be interested in looking into the East Africa Crude Pipeline as well as the one between our Member Country, the Republic of South Africa and a potential Member Country, the Republic of Mozambique.
