As Mozambique prepares to host the Africa Gas & LNG Summit, Standard Bank Group’s Paul Eardley-Taylor highlights the investment priorities, market opportunities and policy decisions shaping the continent’s gas future.
Africa’s gas industry is evolving. Mozambique’s LNG sector is gaining momentum, new technologies are creating opportunities, and investors are looking at how to turn substantial gas resources into commercially viable projects.
These issues will be in focus at the Africa Gas & LNG Summit (AfGLNG), taking place from 11–13 November 2026 at the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre in Maputo, Mozambique.
The three-day summit will bring together government leaders, financiers and energy executives to examine the investment decisions, infrastructure and partnerships needed to advance Africa’s gas industry and generate greater economic value.
For Paul Eardley-Taylor, Gas Sector Lead at Standard Bank Group, who will help set the scene for the summit’s Energy Leaders’ Dialogue, understanding the commercial market is fundamental.
•Gas Sector Lead at Standard Bank Group, Paul Eardley-Taylor
Major liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments, which convert gas into liquid form for transportation, typically depend on international oil company involvement and clearly identified markets. Following a declaration of commerciality, an LNG project may reach a Final Investment Decision (FID), the formal commitment to proceed with development, within two to three years.
For pipelines and domestic gas infrastructure, investors must also assess supply, demand and whether gas prices can compete with alternative fuels.
Mozambique’s growing role
As host of AfGLNG 2026, Mozambique provides an important example of Africa’s emerging gas opportunities.
Eardley-Taylor points to renewed momentum in the country’s LNG developments.
The Eni-operated Coral South floating LNG facility has been exporting gas since 2022, while projects such as Mozambique LNG and Rovuma LNG demonstrate the scale of future investment opportunities.
Technology is also creating new possibilities. “Floating LNG (FLNG) has broken through in the last decade and has been deployed in Cameroon, Congo, Mozambique with Gabon next,” says Eardley-Taylor.
These facilities process and liquefy gas offshore, while onshore gas resources are expected to support more small-scale LNG (SSLNG) developments across sub-Saharan Africa.
Turning investment into economic value
Beyond Mozambique, Eardley-Taylor highlights Côte d’Ivoire’s gas-to-power developments and rapid progress at its Baleine project, alongside increasing gas investment decisions in Nigeria.
For him, accelerating development requires aligning investment priorities with commercial opportunities.
“Investors are usually market focused, Governments not always so. As Governments start to become market focused (for example, the current Nigerian administration), then the number of FIDs will increase, including beneficiation.”
This includes creating more economic value from gas resources through processing and industrial development.
The relationship between investment and economic value will be central to AfGLNG 2026.
The opening Energy Leaders’ Dialogue, “The African Gas Opportunity: Turning Resources into Prosperity,” will examine how gas resources can generate broader economic benefits. A dedicated FID session will address the conditions needed to advance projects, alongside discussions on financing, infrastructure, industrialisation and local content.
Officially endorsed by H.E. Daniel Chapo, President of the Republic of Mozambique, and the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), AfGLNG 2026 will bring together government and industry leaders to examine investment, infrastructure and regional cooperation across Africa’s gas sector.
Hosted by the Associação de Conteúdo Local de Moçambique (ACLM), with ENH and INP as strategic partners, AfGLNG 2026 will bring investment priorities, government policy and commercial opportunities into sharper focus as Africa looks to advance its next generation of gas projects.
