Industry leaders at the G20 Africa Energy Investment Forum said critical infrastructure gaps and financing barriers are blocking the continent’s transition from wood and charcoal to clean fuels, despite new political support from the G20.
Poor logistics and limited terminal capacity add a 10% to 20% premium to LPG costs in Africa, forcing companies to import smaller volumes through inadequate ports, said Tamsin Rankin Donaldson, head of marketing at Petredec.
“Africa urgently needs infrastructure that allows us to bring in higher volumes,” including terminals that can receive very large gas carriers, she said.
South Africa’s LPG demand sits just below 500,000 metric tons annually, but supply remains constrained by offline refineries and fragmented transport, said Sesakho Magadla, acting CEO of PetroSA.
The state energy company is examining rail improvements linking Saldanha Bay to Mozambique to move LPG at scale.
Getting refineries operational again is “a priority,” Magadla said, adding that PetroSA aims to mobilize by 2026.
Petredec is building the Tanga LPG terminal in Tanzania and exploring a rail link from Richards Bay to inland South African markets.
Donaldson called on governments to streamline permitting processes to accelerate projects.
Financing bottlenecks compound infrastructure problems. The International Energy Agency estimates Africa needs $37 billion to achieve universal clean-cooking access by 2030, yet carbon-credit frameworks exclude LPG-based solutions.
“We have to put carbon credits as part of the LPG discussion,” said Anibor Kragha, executive secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association. Clean cookstoves qualify for credits, but LPG does not.
Kragha said countries like Kenya used subsidies to accelerate LPG adoption, but that approach is unsustainable. Climate finance for LPG could enable market-driven growth instead.
Titus Mathe, CEO of the South African National Energy Development Institute, said investors lack data to quantify emissions reductions and energy savings from clean-cooking projects.
“When you think of clean cooking and LPG, the biggest challenge is data,” Mathe said. He proposed creating an Africa-wide data platform and an LPG financing facility backed by the African Union, G20 and global institutions.
Achieving universal access by 2040 requires 80 million new connections annually — seven times the current pace, Donaldson said.
Without rapid investment in transport, permitting reform and carbon-credit recognition for LPG’s climate benefits, speakers warned Africa risks missing a critical opportunity to deliver clean cooking energy.
