In 2018, the value of Africa’s oil and gas exports was estimated at US$171 billion. In the same year, its precious metal exports, which represent the region’s second-largest commodity export category, were valued at US$77 billion, illustrating not only the continent’s reliance on its extractives industries but its particular dependence on oil and gas. 

Despite some challenges to working in the region, the oil and gas industry will remain a fundamental driver of the region’s economic prospects as the continent’s top commodity export category. The continent’s oil-producing nations have benefited from factors including maturing regulatory environments, a burgeoning local consumer market and the slow but steady growth of its local content capacity. Progress in the development of significant offshore assets has captured the attention of majors worldwide, in addition to new opportunities in gas reserves. As investors cautiously look towards Africa as the world’s last untapped frontier, we highlight six countries with particular promise in the pages of this publication: Angola, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Gabon and Ghana.