VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2023) Omar Ibrahim, the head of the African Petroleum Producers' Organization, suggested in an interview to Sputnik that African nations should retain much of the oil and gas they are currently exporting for internal consumption while using export revenue to address energy poverty.
"Africa has the largest proportion of its people living in energy poverty. Yet, we export 75% of our oil and 45% of our gas... If you export maybe 25% to bring in technology, to bring in things that will help make your people better, fine. But most of the money it gets really goes into people's consumption, the lifestyle of our elite, government," Ibrahim told Sputnik on the sidelines of the OPEC International Seminar in Vienna.
"I would rather find a way of creating various energy infrastructure that would make it possible for them to get energy to the people. Build pipelines, make it possible for people in every part of the continent to have access to energy. And if this is done, honestly, we don't have enough energy to export. So I think that orientation must change," he added.
The African Petroleum Producers' Organization promotes sustainable development and energy security in Africa. It groups Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Libya, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.
