Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, recently urged Chinese companies to invest in Equatorial Guinea and expressed that the Chinese market is open to receiving more products from the African nation.
After meeting his Equatorial Guinea counterpart, Simeon Oyono Esono Angue, in Beijing last month, Qin said that China is willing to deepen exchanges with the African nation while also synergizing the development strategies of both countries.
In addition, Qin stated that China would strive to promote Chinese-style modernization, achieve high-quality development, and enhance its level of openness, which will create fresh development opportunities for Equatorial Guinea.
In June, Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons E. Antonio Oburu Ondo will be attending the South Sudan Oil & Power (SSOP) conference seeking to enhance intra-African collaboration and trade.
Ondo will be promoting Africa as an energy investment destination of choice in 2023 and beyond.
Equatorial Guinea is working to establish itself as a gas mega hub in the region by offering new opportunities for investors. The country is seeking to leverage multilateral partnerships toward developing hydrocarbons.
Opportunities for China in Equatorial Guinea
China has invested at least $2 billion in Equatorial Guinea which is a participant in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Asian nation harbors ambitions of building a naval base in the Gulf of Guinea, directly challenging America that dominates the Atlantic Ocean.
With the invitation to invest in Equatorial Guinea, China will no doubt be a beneficiary of the opportunities in the crude oil sector which the country will be publicizing at the SSOP.
Equatorial Guinea is aggressively pursuing the extensive Gas Mega Hub initiative expansion strategy. If successfully implemented, the strategy would see the country become Central and West Africa’s processing hub creating several investment opportunities.
With China’s experience in energy, Equatorial Guinea could accelerate its race towards African gas monetization enhancing its future energy mix.
Chinese companies have been pushing to invest in Equatorial Guinea’s oil, gas and minerals sectors. Once the investment plans solidify companies like PowerChina Group, ENN Group, CCCC, Sinochem, CMEC, China Minmetals Corp, Beijing Gas, China Gas and others could be among the beneficiaries.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Even as the world is shifting to clean energy sources, Africa’s energy poverty remains an unresolved issue with millions yet to have access to reliable energy. With the debate on climate change effects raging, the investment in the fossil fuel energy sector is still in high gear in Africa and Equatorial Guinea shows that African countries are not planning to slow down these investments.
China remains a big player in the sector with projects like EACOP in East Africa and some clean energy investments in Egypt and Zambia.
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