Africa’s Energy Future Cannot Be Built on Exclusion

Across many Western countries, anti-energy activists attack the very oil and gas industry that provides tax revenue to build schools, pave roads and fund universities. Unreasonable limits on oil and natural gas activity do not just target companies – they ultimately harm societies, weaken economies and destroy jobs. Africa cannot afford to follow that path. At the African Energy Chamber (AEC), we have always believed we must remain organized to defend this industry and fight back when necessary.

The Chamber has personally invested significant effort in this fight because supporting the oil and gas industry is essential to Africa’s development and economic sovereignty. At the AEC, we reject the idea that governments should pick energy winners and losers instead of allowing free‑market principles to work. By rallying continued investment into Africa, we defend the same market foundations that built many of today’s strongest global economies. That is why regulatory clarity, efficient permitting and consistent enforcement are essential to attracting both domestic and foreign capital – work the AEC advances every day.

Africa’s Energy Must Deliver for Africans

For many Africans, skepticism about oil and gas has long centered on one question: where are the jobs and opportunities? This is why we remain unapologetic advocates of local content. Expecting the industry to create jobs for Africans is not radical – it is right.

To be clear, the industry has made meaningful progress. It has trained professionals, developed talent and produced African entrepreneurs who are now acquiring assets across the continent. The leadership of companies such as Seplat, Renaissance Energy, Oando, Etu Energias, First E&P, ND Western and numerous service firms reflects careers built inside major IOCs and global service companies. From Angola and Mozambique to Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Senegal, few industries have created comparable pathways for African leadership. In many cases, this progress required governments to push firmly for African inclusion – something regulators such as the NUPRC, ANPG, Ghana Petroleum Commission and authorities in Namibia, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and South Africa must never forget.

Inclusion Is Not Optional

Yet serious concerns remain. Policies or practices that exclude Black professionals from employment opportunities contradict the very principles of growth, fairness and partnership the industry claims to uphold. Frontier Energy Network’s hiring practices – widely understood across the industry to exclude Black professionals – are wrong. Full stop. This is not who our industry claims to be, and it is not compatible with partnership in Africa. Frontier’s leadership, including Daniel Davidson, has remained stubborn on this issue, and we are prepared to take this fight to the end. An organization that earns the lion’s share of its revenue from Africans cannot expect to benefit from African markets, governments and capital while denying fair employment to Africans.

This moment calls for our industry to show moral conviction. Africans are watching. No organization seeking partnership, investment or credibility in Africa can ignore inclusion or dismiss legitimate concerns about discrimination. In 2026, we should not still be confronting barriers rooted in the past. If the Africa Energies Summit wants African support, it must be ready to do the right thing by hiring Black professionals. When Daniel Davidson refuses to hire Black professionals and actively locks them out, the industry feels it – it is like a one‑eyed quarterback seeing only half the field.

The Industry Must Choose

We are therefore considering a targeted, lawful and selective boycott – yes, exactly that – against institutions that refuse to uphold inclusive hiring. Quite frankly, companies that still treat Black professionals as second‑class participants in this industry must face consequences. Inclusion drives growth, and when this industry grows, everybody wins. It is simply good business.

Service companies, investors, conference organizers and partners all share responsibility. One cannot seek licenses, approvals, and government goodwill while tolerating exclusionary behavior. Companies such as TGS – and others participating in platforms perceived by many Black professionals as unwelcoming – must recognize their influence and act accordingly. As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Companies must pick a side. You cannot promise governments local hiring while endorsing exclusion.

African ministers and regulators who attend the Africa Energies Summit cannot claim to value local content while aligning with institutions that refuse to hire Black professionals. The days when Black professionals are merely spectators in Africa’s oil and gas development are over. Our industry must remain vigilant. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past or give anti‑oil extremists an opportunity to tell African youth, “We told you so.”

Ignoring local content risks undermining the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry. The Chamber takes this position not lightly, but from decades of advocacy, criticism endured and unwavering belief in the sector’s importance to the continent. Listening to Black professionals who feel excluded is not optional – it is necessary. Many may come for me because of this stance, but honesty demands that I speak for the Black men and women who have been unfairly treated by Daniel Davidson and the Africa Energies Summit.

In the coming weeks, The Chamber will engage African officials and industry leaders to seek clear commitments to inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Where progress is absent, we will exercise our lawful right to protest. Oil and gas professionals are good people, and this industry remains vital to ending energy poverty and strengthening global energy security. God bless the oil and gas industry – and yes, Drill Baby Drill.

We cannot allow division to weaken our shared mission. The Chamber has consistently been a model of pragmatic leadership, especially when facing distractions such as those posed by Frontier Energy Network and the Africa Energies Summit. Africa’s energy future must be built on investment, opportunity and inclusion for all. We shall overcome.

Per Kind Favour of APO

Africa Fact: African Continental Free Trade Agreement went into force May 30th 2019. As of July 2019, 27 African countries had ratified the agreement and all African countries besides Eritrea had signed the CFTA.