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New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Retaking control: Africa boosts indigenous participation in oil and gas ventures
26/2/2025
10 min read
Feature
Significant M&A action is underway in Africa as indigenous operators take over from the oil majors. This may seem counter-intuitive as the energy transition towards renewables gathers pace with the threat of stranded fossil fuel assets. However, African countries make no secret of wanting to own and develop their fossil fuel resources, following the fortunes made in this sector by the oil and gas majors historically. Bracewell lawyers Adam Blythe and Simon Cudennec bring us up to date on the latest state interventions and moves towards resource nationalism in the Anglophone countries of Angola and Nigeria, and Francophone Africa, particularly in Gabon. New Energy World Features Editor Brian Davis reports.
2024 was a very busy year for mergers and acquisition (M&A) in Africa. First, Adam Blythe looks at the Anglophone region in Sub-Saharan Africa, where foreign divestment of oil and gas assets is creating ‘significant opportunities’ for indigenous companies.
‘What were the reasons behind some of that activity?’ he asks.
Apparently, there was no single ‘monster deal’. Instead, there were numerous deals of significant value, around the $500mn mark, and many deals of this kind across the breadth of Africa. ‘Of course, every deal is unique and Africa is a wide and diverse continent, so many factors lay behind these deals,’ he remarks.