Energy from Africa — tapping the potential

摘要

As a recent major conference in South Africa highlighted, despite many advances Africa remains a continent whose potential resources remain frustratingly captive. For example, in terms of hydrocarbon reserves, the continent has substantial quantities of both oil and gas. True, these figures are dwarfed by the massive reserves of the Middle East, but African reserves are still significantly greater than those of both the Far East and North America, the two parts of the world with the most dynamic economies. Since Africa all too often makes the headlines for the wrong reasons, we might redress the balance here by examining the potential for good news emanating from conferences such as the one referred to above.