Africa sees natural gas as a promising direction of cooperation with Russian energy companies in order to become an energy self-sufficient continent, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber NJ Ayuk told Sputnik.
"I think gas is going to be something that is so promising, huge amounts of gas reserves that have been discovered and that need to be brought into development especially in Nigeria and Congo," Ayuk told Sputnik when asked about potential vectors of energy cooperation with Russia.
The African Energy Chamber's chief also said that Russian energy companies had "great skills in gas capture," which turns gas into electricity and petrochemicals such as ammonia.
"[We are] looking at gas, developing gas, not just for export but for domestic use, making energy poverty history and driving a gas-based economy to really improve people's lives," Ayuk said on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg.
He went on to say that Russia is a 100% energy self-sufficient country that should be able to assist Africa in capacity building, technology transfer and finding solutions to Africa's energy crisis.
"We will continue to meet with Russian companies, encourage them to continue to invest in Africa and to partner with Africans on projects that would alleviate energy poverty," Ayuk added.
He noted that 600 million Africans do not have access to electricity and 900 million Africans do not have access to clean cooking technologies, most of them women. He also expressed confidence that Africa could become energy sustainable.