Oil & Gas

The report on Africa's largest liquefied gas exporters in the third quarter of 2024 shows an overall increase in exports from most countries, with the exceptions of Algeria and Equatorial Guinea. According to the "Arab and Global Liquefied Gas Market Developments" report, released by the Energy Research Unit in Washington, total African LNG exports reached 9.66 million tons between July and September 2024. This represents a slight decrease of 1.6% compared to 9.82 million tons in the same period last year.

The decline in exports is largely attributed to a significant drop in Algeria's exports and Egypt's removal from the list after halting LNG exports in May 2024 to meet domestic demand. Algeria, which topped the list in the third quarter of 2023, fell behind Nigeria in 2024 after consecutive quarters of declining exports. Meanwhile, Egypt’s total exports were limited to the first four months of 2024, amounting to 0.54 million tons.

Nigeria led the continent as the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the third quarter of 2024, with exports rising to 3.88 million tons from 3.28 million tons last year. Algeria came in second, with its exports dropping to 2.63 million tons, down from 3.64 million tons in 2023. Angola, Mozambique, and Cameroon all saw increases in their LNG exports, while Equatorial Guinea recorded a slight decline, and Congo made its first appearance on the list with 0.08 million tons exported.

Algeria's fall in LNG exports was driven by lower production from the Arzew terminal, despite stable output from Skikda. Nigeria's rise in exports was supported by planned maintenance at the Bonny LNG facility. In the first three quarters of 2024, Nigeria consistently led African LNG exports, while Algeria saw only modest growth early in the year before experiencing a steady decline by the second and third quarters.