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JOHANNESBURG. – As Russia enforces its new gas payment plans, Europe leaders have been looking to Africa as an alternative energy supplier.

New deals have been signed with Algeria, Angola, Congo, Nigeria, and others are thought to be on the way.

Yesterday, Russian gas holding company Gazprom confirmed complete suspension of gas supplies to Denmark’s Orsted Salg & Service A/S and Shell Energy Europe (Shell’s European subsidiary) due to failure to pay in roubles.

This week, while welcoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Senegalese President Macky Sall said his country was “ready to work” on supplying liquid natural gas (LNG) to Europe, but that “first we need to be supported in our participation under better conditions than those currently offered by our partners.”

Senegal is believed to have significant deposits of natural gas along its border with Mauritania.

Europe’s interest is good news for African energy producers who have endured years of low prices, and a pandemic that affected demand.

But many gas-rich countries, with the exception of Algeria, face capacity problems and won’t readily satisfy European demand.

In 2020, Algeria was Africa’s top natural gas exporter followed by Nigeria, Egypt, and Libya, according to Statista.

Other producers such as Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo lack the requisite infrastructure to enable them to increase production.

A European ban on financing new oil and gas projects in Africa has also locked up capital for aspiring producers such as Uganda.

As Europe scrambles to secure its energy supply, questions are being asked if a ban on financing fossil fuel projects will be reversed.

Meanwhile, Russia’s average daily income from oil and gas exports by the end of the year could reach about US$800 million, Bloomberg wrote yesterday.

The agency said Western sanctions were aimed at hitting Russia’s “war machine,” but that machine was “still very much operational.”

Russia also exports other resources needed on the world market such as food and metals.

“Even with some countries halting or phasing out energy purchases, Russia’s oil-and-gas revenue will be about US$285 billion this year, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics based on Economy Ministry projections. That would exceed the 2021 figure by more than one-fifth. Throw in other commodities, and it more than makes up for the US$300 billion in foreign reserves frozen as part of the sanctions.”

Bloomberg argues that Russia can face a recession in the future, but it can “ignore this damage for now,” because its coffers are “overflowing with the revenue from commodities, which have become more lucrative than ever thanks to the surge in global prices” driven in part by the conflict in Ukraine. – Agencies