Africa's upstream investment terms fail to impress
The region will have to offer much more attractive investment terms to lure operators to its upstream
Put a group of oil company bosses in a room together at virtually any time in the industry's history and they will complain about investment terms or the regulatory environment in the countries they operate. Nowhere is this more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa. The continent is relatively under-explored with huge hydrocarbons potential but has struggled to attract funding as firms globally slashed upstream capital spending. Paul McDade, chief executive of Africa-focused Tullow Oil, told the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town that exploration licence terms must be competitive to attract new investors to the region's upstream. "This means governments and regulators being bold and flexi

Also in this section
17 February 2025
There is a growing feeling that it will not take much for heavy international hitters to follow the US out of the Paris Agreement
14 February 2025
The start of private LNG imports may trigger an evolution in the country’s policy of energy security to encompass commercial exploitation
13 February 2025
New supply from Argentina, Brazil and Guyana is rich in middle distillates, but optimism in terms of volume growth remains tempered by regulatory and technical risks as well as price volatility
12 February 2025
The oilfield expansion provides a fresh influx of revenue but will strain its cooperation with OPEC+ and fails to mask deeper issues with the economy and investors