A fuel shortage looming Africa by 2040

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has come out and said Africa is heading towards a 86 million tonne fuel shortage by 2040 according to Africa news and AP on the 23rd of April.

With the recent emphasis on fuel prices and many countries lack of fuel reserve the AFC have done this report to make people and the continent aware of its vulnerability in terms of shipping fuel and oil and the fuel and oil that they have in reserve in cash there is another period where no or little supply is coming in.

When the shortage of fuel became apparent in Africa many countries who rely most of their fuel use on importing it from other countries went into fuel emergency and put in measures to reduce their fuel consumption. Zambia for example they declared a state of emergency in terms of their fuel supply and put in measures to reduce it while also seeking additional supply which was hard to come by when the need for fuel was and still is pretty high.

Tanzania is another country that heavily relies on fuel because of their constant vehicle use. The AFC has projected that by 2040 their expected fuel importation is to rise to around 86 million tonnes. Africa’s reliance on importing fuel is a major concern for their future with the Kenyan President William Ruto, speaking at the report’s launch in Nairobi, said the war in Iran showed the need for Africa to stop relying on outsiders. 

The pan-African finance institution said that fixing Africa’s energy shortfall requires new hubs and better performance from existing assets instead of relying on importing energy from other countries. Africa imports nearly 70% of its refined fuel across the whole continent. 

Fuel prices have risen in many countries because of the affects with the war in Iran. Fuel prices have risen by nearly 30% since the start of the year in Egypt for example with the shortage of fuel for years to come this could lead to fuel prices to continue to rise for people in Egypt and the whole of Africa. 

Africa News/ Maghrebi