Africa’s total energy investment is projected to hit $110 billion in 2026, with Nigeria remaining one of the continent’s biggest destinations despite a prolonged decline in upstream spending among its largest oil and gas producers, according to the International Energy Agency.

In its World Energy Investment 2026 report, the agency said that although investment across Africa was expanding, the continent still attracted just 3.3 per cent of global energy investment despite holding about 20 per cent of the world’s population. Spending remains dominated by fossil fuels, but interest is extending to power generation, critical minerals and transport electrification.

Investment is concentrated in Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt and Libya, which together account for about 70 per cent of Africa’s energy investment, though spending in those countries fell from $50 billion in 2016 to $25 billion in 2025. Upstream investment across Africa stood at $37 billion in 2025, down from $68 billion in 2016.

The agency said sub-Saharan upstream oil and gas investment was expected to rebound 12 per cent to almost $24 billion in 2026, with Nigeria among the key beneficiaries through LNG and offshore developments. Capital is also flowing to emerging producers such as Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal and Uganda.

The report estimated that about 590 million people in Africa still lack electricity and nearly a billion lack clean cooking, and said closing those gaps would require far higher investment. Globally, it projected energy investment rising to a record $3.4 trillion in 2026, with about $2.2 trillion going to clean energy.