The Africa Energy Bank is set to commence operations in March 2025, as confirmed by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri.
The bank, headquartered in Abuja, aims to fund oil and gas projects and support Africa’s energy transition goals.
This was disclosed by Lokpobiri on Tuesday at the opening of the Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Conference organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
He stated that Africa’s main challenge is energy poverty, and the solution lies within the continent.
He confirmed that the Africa Energy Bank in Abuja is nearly complete and will focus on funding oil and gas projects to drive Africa’s energy transition.
“For us in Africa, the Africa Energy Bank is the solution. The African Energy Bank is good to go. This is a bank that will start with about $5bn, contributed between member countries and the Afrexim Bank. The Afrexim Bank has said they are going to, as part of the agreement, cede their oil and gas portfolio to that bank. The projections are that by the next four or five years, this bank will grow and ascend to $120bn. We want people to come and invest in that bank. We want sustainable investments, not promises that they can never be kept.
“And so we are very proud that as part of our commitments to host the African Energy Bank, the building is ready. We are putting the finishing touches to it. It’s a beautiful building, the best you can find in Africa. And our own projections are that this bank will take off by this quarter. This is February.
“We believe that by the end of this quarter, this bank will formally take off. So you don’t need to go elsewhere to look for funding,” he expounded.
The oil minister encouraged local investors in oil and gas to seek funding within Africa. He also urged African heads of state to reinvest their funds into the continent to drive economic growth and energy development.
“Bring it and invest in this sector. If we have to solve our problem of energy poverty, with 600 million having no electricity, there’s no way we can industrialise; and without industrialisation, we can never grow. The world will go and leave Africa behind,” he stated.
He emphasised the need to drill for more oil and gas with sufficient investments in the sector.
