Marine fuel regulation change to create African winners and losers
The African upstream may be well placed to benefit from IMO 2020, but it poses significant wider risks to the region
The new International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations changing the quality of shipping fuel from January 2020 will have a global effect on oil prices. And the impact of the new regulations on the African oil sector in particular will be profound, given the mix of lower and higher sulphur in oil production in different production centres. Further downstream, there are generally fewer complex refineries in Africa; there are government subsidies for road transport fuels; there is a higher dependence on imported fuels (which are expected to increase in price); and a higher proportion of power generation fed by high sulphur fuels. The challenges posed by the new regulations should be unde
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
