2. Energy Use, Economy, and Carbon Emissions

3. Energy Statistics

4. Oil and Gas

5. Electricity

6. Trade and Cooperation

7. Environment and Renewable Energy in Africa

Appendix

3. Energy Statistics

Primary Energy Consumption and  Production, 1997
(Quadrillion British Thermal Units*, Btu) {Table}

 African Energy Overview

• Overall, Africa is a major net energy exporter.  In 1997, Africa consumed 11.4 quadrillion Btu’s (quads) of commercial energy (plus even more non-commercial energy) and produced 26.5 quads, making it a net exporter of 15.1 quads of commercial energy (i.e., oil, gas, coal).

• Every subregion of Africa except East Africa is a net exporter of energy.  North Africa is by far the largest, with significant oil and gas exports going to Europe and other markets.  West Africa’s exports are almost exclusively oil, and from one country -- Nigeria.  Southern Africa’s net energy exports are oil (from Angola) and coal (from South Africa).  Central Africa is an oil exporting region due to Cameroon, Congo and Gabon.  East Africa is a tiny net energy importer (mainly oil).

• The countries of North Africa produce slightly less energy than  the rest of Africa’s regions combined.  The vast majority (around 80%) of energy consumption in Africa is either in North or Southern Africa.

• In 1997, only five countries (South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Libya) accounted for 78% (8.9 quads) of all energy consumption, and 84% (22 quads) of all energy production, in Africa.  

• Significant (greater than 0.5 quads) net exporters of energy in Africa include Nigeria, Algeria, Libya, South Africa, Egypt, Gabon, and Congo.  There are no significant net energy importers in Africa, with the vast majority of African nations importing  only very small (i.e., 0.3 quads or less) amounts of energy.

• Africa is a heavy user of “traditional” (non-commercial) fuels -- primarily biomass.  In 1994, according to the World Bank, around 65% of Africa’s total energy consumption was made up of biomass.

• Within Africa, certain regions consume much more “traditional” fuel than others.  North Africa, for instance, consumes very little biomass, due mainly to the lack of wood in the desert climate.  Central and East Africa, on the other hand, consume large amounts of biomass.

• Generally, the consumption of “traditional” fuels is highly labor intensive, inefficient, polluting, and destructive to the environment (i.e., deforestation and desertification).

Fossil Fuel Consumption, 1997 {Table}

Consumption/Reserves of Fossil Fuels

• All countries of Africa consume at least some petroleum, regardless of the availability of domestic supplies.  Fewer than half of African countries have any domestic refining capacity, and many of these are very small facilities.

• Oil, as a relatively easily transportable and usable (”fungible”) fuel, is consumed throughout Africa.  Coal and gas, on the other hand, are not as fungible as oil.  Their use, therefore, depends heavily on the availability of either domestic or nearby resources and the extent to which these resources -- along with the necessary transportation infrastructure -- have been developed.

• Natural gas is consumed almost exclusively by countries with gas reserves/production.  Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia (all in North Africa), plus Nigeria (in West Africa), account for 94% of total African natural gas consumption.

• The absence of natural gas consumption in most African countries results largely from a lack of pipeline infrastructure.  This, in turn, is a result of several factors, including cost, terrain, and political factors.

• South Africa, with its own large reserves, is the only country in Africa to consume significant amounts of coal.

• Oil and natural gas are concentrated heavily in North and West Africa, especially Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria.  Other countries with large oil and/or gas reserves include Angola, Egypt, Gabon, and Congo.

• Countries with smaller, but still significant, oil and gas reserves include Cameroon, Sudan, and Tunisia.  Mozambique and Namibia (and, to a lesser extent, Tanzania) have significant natural gas reserves, but no oil.

Fossil Fuel Reserves -- 1/1/99 {Table}

Crude Oil Trade, 1996 {Table}

Refining Capacity and Petroleum Product Trade {Table}

Electric Generating Capacity, 1997 {Table} 

Electric Power in Africa

• At the beginning of 1997, electric generating capacity in Africa totaled nearly 94 gigawatts, about 3% of the world’s total.

• Most of Africa’s generating capacity (76%) is thermal.  This is particularly the case in North Africa (88%) and southern Africa (81%).  In North Africa, thermal capacity is a mix mainly of oil and natural gas.  In southern Africa, it is mainly coal and oil.

• Hydroelectric capacity accounts for about 22% of total electric generating capacity in Africa.  Hydroelectricity represents the primary source of electricity in East Africa and Central Africa (and nearly half in West Africa). Reliance on hydropower is 80% or greater in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. Hydropower reliance is greater than 70% in several other African countries.

• Nuclear power accounts for only 2% of total African electric generating capacity, and is located in only one country -- South Africa.

• Geothermal generating plants make up only about 0.1% of total electric generating capacity in Africa.  Ethiopia and Kenya account for all of this capacity.

• Access to a central power grid is a major challenge for Africa. Outside of southern Africa (and to a lesser extent, North Africa), electrification rates are very low.  As a result, per capita electricity consumption is extremely low in Central, East, and West Africa.  In those regions, use of biomass largely takes the place of electricity from a power grid.

Central Africa Map {PDF}

East Africa Map {PDF}

North Africa Map {PDF}

Southern Africa Map {PDF}

West Africa Map {PDF}