CAPE TOWN (Realist English). The United Arab Emirates is expanding its footprint in Africa’s energy and infrastructure sectors, with growing investments in oil, gas, renewables, and logistics. Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs Sharif Al-Olama is set to showcase new avenues for cooperation at African Energy Week 2025, taking place from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town.
African Energy Week (AEW), now a key platform for cross-border energy collaboration, regularly gathers investors, developers, and policymakers. Al-Olama’s participation is expected to reinforce the UAE’s role as a pivotal partner for African energy markets, particularly in advancing strategic oil and gas projects.
Between 2019 and 2023, Emirati companies invested roughly $110 billion across the continent, making the UAE Africa’s largest source of foreign direct investment. The Emirati push into Africa reflects a broader effort to diversify investment portfolios and strengthen economic ties in high-growth sectors.
Highlighting this shift, the UAE has signed landmark agreements with Morocco to support the Africa-Atlantic pipeline, which will transport Nigerian gas to North Africa and Europe. The project is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and has already completed feasibility and engineering studies.
Other high-level engagements include agreements with Tanzania on port operations and infrastructure, and a comprehensive economic partnership pact signed with Kenya earlier this year. These initiatives are consolidated under the UAE-Africa Gateway, a state-led strategy launched in 2025 to catalyze private sector expansion in sub-Saharan Africa.
State-owned companies are also scaling up operations. ADNOC, through its international division XRG, recently acquired a 10% stake in Mozambique’s offshore Rovuma Basin Area 4, including the Coral South FLNG facility and future LNG developments targeting 25 млн тонн в год. In Egypt, ADNOC has partnered with bp to establish Arcius Energy, a gas platform focused on upstream exploration.
In the logistics sector, DP World now runs six African ports, while Abu Dhabi Ports has expanded to Guinea, Egypt, and Angola. On the renewables front, Masdar has pledged $2 млрд for green energy projects by 2030, and AMEA Power is investing in wind, solar, and green hydrogen across Ethiopia, South Africa, Angola, and beyond — with a clean energy portfolio exceeding 2.6 ГВт.
“The UAE has emerged as a key development partner for Africa’s energy and infrastructure ambitions. Through sustained investment, technology transfer, and physical presence, Emirati firms are actively contributing to Africa’s economic transformation,” said Verner Ayukegba, Senior Vice President at the African Energy Chamber.
