Deloitte released a new report on West Africa’s oil and gas outlook
A new Deloitte report on West Africa’s Oil and Gas Outlook has warned that inconsistent policies, unclear regulations, and limited collaboration between governments and industry continue to slow the pace of investments across Africa’s energy sector.
The report said that from Tanzania in the East, to Ghana and Nigeria in the West, one of the most consistent concerns among industry players is the need for more predictable, transparent, and investment-friendly policy frameworks.
“Too often, governments are perceived not as enablers of industry growth but as extractors of short-term revenue. This dynamic undermines trust and deters commitment to long-term projects,” the report noted.
Deloitte cited examples such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and Tanzania’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects, slowed by complex host government agreements, as evidence of the wider regional challenge.
In Ghana, it said upstream oil production has declined steadily over the past five years, with no new petroleum agreements signed in that period.
The report attributes this hiatus to a misalignment between government priorities and investor expectations.
However, it also points to signs of renewal, noting that the new administration has made reopening the sector a key 2025 priority, with early progress toward improved dialogue and licensing reform.
In Nigeria, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was cited as a step toward a clearer operating environment, but Deloitte cautions that implementation gaps persist.
For lasting investor confidence, the report calls for streamlined regulations, tax certainty, and consistent enforcement across the value chain.
Across the continent, National Oil Companies (NOCs) are facing rising pressure to transform into commercially competitive entities, mirroring global peers such as Saudi Aramco and QatarEnergy.
Angola’s Sonangol has begun major reforms to improve transparency and attract investors, while Nigeria’s NNPC Limited is rebranding as a fully commercial energy company, distancing itself from political oversight and even eyeing a partial public listing by decade’s end.
In Ghana, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is pursuing similar shifts, albeit at a slower pace.
These evolving models, Deloitte suggested, could mark the start of a new era of collaboration and corporate accountability in Africa’s energy landscape.
“For Africa’s oil and gas sector to thrive, governments and state-owned companies must evolve from regulators to partners, creating stable, predictable environments that attract long-term capital,” the report concluded.
As Ghana and its regional counterparts push toward reform, the next phase of Africa’s energy story will depend less on resource abundance and more on policy consistency, transparency, and trust.
SSD/AE
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