The European Union is seeking to increase gas supplies from Africa to reduce dependence on supplies from Russia, but the continent's countries, which suffer from energy shortages for their populations, may hinder this, Bloomberg writes.
"African leaders, on the one hand, are hungry for millions in revenues from gas deals; on the other, they call the sudden interest in their resources a double standard that exacerbates the West's exploitation of the region. They question why Africa should move away from dirty fuels, thereby delaying access to electricity for hundreds of millions of people," the agency reports.
Countries in Europe, which have opposed the use of gas and other fossil fuels in the world to meet global climate goals, now want to increase gas supplies from Africa even more. Italy, for example, signed supply agreements with Angola and the Congo Republic in April, and Germany plans to negotiate supplies from Senegal.
However, rich countries are unwilling to finance pipelines and production that could facilitate the use of gas in Africa itself, and they have not kept promises to finance green projects that could become alternative energy sources. This approach irritates African leaders, who need any kind of fuel to lift millions of people out of poverty, Bloomberg notes.
"It doesn't help their energy security, it doesn't help Nigeria's economy, and it doesn't help the environment. It's hypocrisy that must end," the agency quotes Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari as saying.
As an example, Bloomberg cited data showing that the Bonny Island LNG plant in Nigeria last year produced enough gas to power half of Great Britain for the winter. Most of it was exported to Spain, France and Portugal, while nearby residents use black-market kerosene and diesel for their wood-burning stoves, produced from oil stolen from Shell, Eni and TotalEnergies facilities.
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti