In recent years, the world has continued to promote energy transformation, and major international financial institutions have begun to reduce the proportion of fossil fuel investment and financing. The African Energy Bank, which has been in preparation for nearly two years, will officially "open" in the first half of this year. It will provide financial guarantees for the reshaping of Africa's energy structure while maximizing the sustainable growth of Africa's economy.

The African Energy Bank, which has been in preparation for nearly two years, will officially "open" in the first half of this year. This bank, which aims to solve the financing bottleneck of energy resource projects in Africa, will be a key node in the development of Africa's energy industry. It will provide financial guarantee for the reshaping of Africa's energy structure while maximizing the sustainable growth of Africa's economy.

In recent years, the world has continued to promote energy transformation, and major international financial institutions have begun to reduce the proportion of fossil fuel investment and financing. This is undoubtedly a major blow to Africa, which has a backward economy but is rich in oil and gas energy. For Africa, it must not only develop "scenery" new energy sources, but also give up traditional oil and gas energy sources. It will ensure energy security and promote energy transformation at its own pace.

Will be officially put into operation in the first half of the year

Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary-General of the Organization of African Petroleum Producing Countries, recently publicly stated that:"The African Energy Bank will be officially operational before the end of June. Africa has always faced multiple challenges such as energy poverty. We need multilateral financial solutions to accelerate oil and gas development. The advent of this bank means that we will no longer rely on international financing channels."

In May 2022, the Organization of African Petroleum Producing Countries and the African Export-Import Bank signed a cooperation agreement to establish the "African Energy Bank", aiming to solve the imminent financial challenges facing the African energy industry, giving priority to existing and new oil and gas projects and oil and gas industry chains. Provide necessary financing to make private capital "active" as much as possible.

The African Energy Bank has an initial capital of US$5 billion. Where to locate its headquarters is still under discussion. It is expected that a final decision can be made as early as the end of March and early April. Currently, seven countries are competing for the position of "host", including Africa's largest oil producers, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire and Algeria.

The African Energy Bank aims to attract investors from countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait to provide financing services to the African energy industry, especially oil and gas projects. Zakaria Dosso, managing director of Africa Energy Investment Corporation, a development finance institution under the Organization of African Petroleum Producing Countries, said that Africa needs to find sources of funding for oil and gas projects internally and elsewhere, such as the Middle East.

Nigeria pointed out that the African Energy Bank is of great value in improving the future of the regional energy industry and can use local capital to promote the growth of Africa's energy industry. In fact, in an environment where major financial institutions around the world continue to reduce investment in fossil fuels, the layout of Africa's oil and gas exploration business needs to be realized through its own financial institutions. This is the reason for the establishment of the African Energy Bank.

Nigeria's Guardian reported that the African Energy Bank aims to increase private sector investment in African oil and gas projects and increase African countries 'dominant position in investment in traditional energy fields. In addition, the African Energy Bank will also drive cross-border financing activities and boost the overall morale of the African continent. The African Energy Investment Corporation and the African Energy Bank will become the two major financing drivers in Africa, providing financial support for the development of energy resources on the African continent.

Alleviate financing problems in the oil and gas industry

For a long time, Africa's energy development has been hampered by financial problems. Africa is not short of energy resources. Whether it is traditional oil and gas energy or renewable energy such as "scenery", the region is quite abundant, and capital has become one of the factors restricting the brilliance of these energy sources.

Africa is rich in natural resources and needs huge investments to achieve its own development goals. Although the investment environment has improved significantly in recent years, it is still difficult to attract international funds. It is reported that Nigeria has previously revised the Petroleum Industry Act to provide investors with a more open and competitive investment environment, but it is still difficult to attract investment. To this end, Nigeria can only adopt alternative financing solutions and give priority to financing in Africa.

此外， As the green transformation accelerates, investors are cautious about investing in fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, which has blocked financing channels for similar projects in Africa. In order to better serve the local energy industry, the African Energy Bank was born. 据了解，非洲国家正在讨论通过该银行为油气管道网络开发筹资，包括中非管道网络，旨在连接11个非洲国家，推进整个非洲大陆油气运输。

Oil Price Network pointed out that Western developed countries are quite critical of the advent of the African Energy Bank, believing that it will provide financing for more fossil fuel projects and is not conducive to Africa's energy transformation.