African Energy Part Two
Power to succeed

Market liberalisation, restructuring and foreign partnerships are revolutionising the energy market in Africa.
In Algeria, major new discoveries have prompted the government to free up the sector, paving the way for the country to become a major supplier to the EU. In Nigeria, the fledgling democracy has allowed entrepreneurial states to take charge of their own development and the government is assisting the evolving indigenous oil industry in its effort to raise the levels of output and reserves.

Gas plans in the pipeline
As well as strengthening their domestic markets, both countries have devised ambitious, multi-billion dollar export projects to boost energy sales overseas. Foreign investors will play a pivotal role in turning these plans into reality.
Perhaps the grandest scheme of them all is a $5 billion initiative to link Nigeria with Algeria via a 4,000km gas pipeline across the Sahara Desert, in conjunction with a new trans-Saharan highway. Under the scheme, Nigerian gas would be piped northwards to integrate with Algeria’s existing gas network and then exported to the EU.

Algeria, already Africa’s number one natural gas producer, is a major supplier to the European market via existing pipelines to Spain and Italy.
The idea has been discussed at presidential level in Algiers and Abuja and has the firm backing of both sides. The current development of the $3 billion oil pipeline linking landlocked Chad with the Atlantic coast of Cameroon shows that such schemes are not just idle fantasy.

Nigeria is also looking to grow its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capabilities. Within the next three years, Nigeria will be the second largest producer in the world. The country has received proposals from foreign investors for a further three LNG schemes that would make the country the world’s biggest supplier.