Are Oil and Gas Industry Dead in Tanzania and East Africa?

I recently talked with a specialist oil and gas industry consultant. I wanted to learn his view on the future of the emerging oil and gas sector in Tanzania and East Africa.

His response was simple: The oil and gas are dead in Tanzania and East Africa, specifically the upstream sub-sector of the industry.

He believes that renewable energy will displace the oil and gas sector in East Africa. He considers most significant oil and gas development projects will never come as expected. Because the world is transitioning into renewable energy.

I strongly believe renewable energy will not displace oil and gas.

If you go back, whenever a new medium was introduced, everyone said the old medium was dead.

Forexample, when discovered coal, everybody said charcoal and firewood were dead. And once we shifted to using oil and gas, everybody now is predicting the end of oil and gas.

Solar and wind are untapped in Tanzania and East Africa. And should be exploited to the fullest. But renewable energy will never displace oil and gas. Look at what is happening in Tanzania and East Africa.

The region is becoming more urbanized and industrialized. And that requires a lot of energy. As our economies industrialized, people demanded more cars, Televisions, factories, and electricity for home and comfort.

Forexample, The large population of East Africa demand reliable electricity and fuel for their vehicles. So wind and solar alone cannot meet the growing energy demand in Tanzania and East Africa.

Renewable energy will contribute to the energy mix rather than cutting the development and utilization of fossil fuels(oil, gas, and coal)

Oil and gas are probably not dead. And they’re probably far from dead.