On February 27, 2019, Accra hosted a meeting of the forum of national oil company leaders of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO). The discussions, notably devoted to the energy transition, raised a question that remains central to public policy across the continent: how can emissions be reduced and energy systems diversified without giving up the use of African resources for development?
Today, this meeting should be read as a stage in a fundamental debate, rather than a recent announcement. The message delivered in Accra combined three priorities: strengthening cooperation between national companies, preserving states' ability to decide how their resources are used and placing energy choices within a sustainable development perspective. Seven years later, this combination remains decisive for African producers.
A transition also defined by development
In African economies, the energy transition is not simply about replacing one energy source with another. It also concerns electricity access, the ability to supply industry, cost control and job creation. The climate question is therefore closely linked to development: the pace and means of transformation must take account of very different national circumstances.
In this respect, the Accra forum emphasized that producing countries intend to retain room to make decisions about their natural resources. This position does not mean that hydrocarbons must retain an unchanged place in energy systems. Rather, it reflects a political requirement: emissions reduction pathways must be compatible with investment, industrialization and energy access needs.
The challenge is to turn this ambition into coherent choices. An energy strategy cannot be limited to defending production or, conversely, setting decarbonization targets without specifying the necessary infrastructure, financing and stages. For producing countries, credibility rests on the ability to explain how resource revenues support diversification and how new sectors can gradually take over.
National companies beyond production
By bringing together national oil company leaders, APPO highlights a level of action often less visible than that of governments or international investors. These state-owned companies are involved in production, but also in negotiating partnerships, developing skills and structuring local value chains.
However, their strategic role depends on governance and execution capacity. To influence the transition, a national company must be able to balance profitability, security of supply and public policy objectives. It must also account for its decisions, assess its risks and adapt to changing markets. Energy sovereignty is therefore measured as much by institutional quality as by ownership of resources.
Cooperation between companies can facilitate this work. Sharing expertise, technical coordination and pooling certain capabilities can reduce costs and improve African stakeholders' bargaining power. However, these partnerships produce lasting results only if their objectives are precise: skills transfer, participation by local companies, predictable fiscal benefits and access to suitable technologies.
From declarations to measurable results
The call made in Accra for “strategic, sustainable and sovereign” decisions provides a useful framework, but is not enough to guarantee results. The central question remains implementation. Which investments are priorities? How should revenues be allocated between immediate needs and preparation for the post-oil era? Which indicators will measure progress in energy access, local content and carbon intensity?
These choices benefit from evaluation against concrete criteria. The share of value created locally, job quality, supply reliability, the effectiveness of public spending and emissions reductions can inform trade-offs. Without comparable data or monitoring mechanisms, the concepts of a just transition and sovereignty risk remaining broad objectives that are difficult to translate into projects and budgets.
Diversification represents another test. Hydrocarbon revenues can finance electricity infrastructure, grids, skills and new industrial activities. However, this transformation requires stable planning and rules predictable enough to attract capital. It also requires investment in renewables, gas, grids and energy efficiency to be designed around actual needs, rather than treating them as competing sectors as a matter of principle.
A question still open for African producers
The Accra meeting had the merit of clearly expressing a tension that has not disappeared: producing countries want to participate in the global transition while defending their right to development and control over their resources. This claim cannot be assessed solely through production volumes. It calls for examination of investment choices, revenue management and the benefits actually obtained by populations.
For APPO and its member companies, the challenge now is to connect continental coordination with verifiable national results. This requires energy strategies with realistic timetables, institutions capable of monitoring commitments and partnerships with clearly established benefits. The transition will be neither uniform nor instantaneous; its legitimacy will depend on how its costs and benefits are distributed.
In 2019, the forum of national company leaders in Accra was already bringing sovereignty, sustainability and the interests of populations into the same discussion. This formulation remains relevant. Above all, it reminds us that the African energy transition will be measured not only by announcements, but by countries' ability to convert their resources and political choices into accessible energy, productive activity and lasting value.