Harnessing Africa’s Energy Potential – Petroleum, Power, and the Rise of Export States

Africa stands at a critical inflection point. From the Gulf of Guinea to the Great Lakes, new petroleum and gas discoveries are redrawing the continent’s economic map. Yet global calls to “leave it in the ground” confront African nations with a defining dilemma: how to reconcile climate commitments with the right to industrialize, electrify, and prosper.

This high-level conversation at the Saïd Business School brings together three influential voices in African energy and diplomacy to debate how the continent can turn its natural resources into engines of transformation rather than dependency.

H.E. Nimisha Madhvani, High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda to the United Kingdom, reflects on Uganda’s journey from discovery to first oil, and how the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is redefining the nation’s economic and geopolitical identity. NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, makes the case for Africa’s energy sovereignty — to drill…