• Africa's gas output fell 17 bcm in 2024
• Algeria led decline due to aging production fields
• Delays, underinvestment threaten Africa’s export reliability

Africa's natural gas production declined in 2024, according to the Global Gas Report 2025 released on Wednesday by the International Gas Union in partnership with Rystad Energy.

The continent's gas output fell by 17 billion cubic meters from 289 billion cubic meters in 2023 to 272 billion cubic meters last year, a decrease that occurred despite new projects coming online. The report attributes this drop primarily to Algeria, the continent's largest producer and a key supplier to Europe, where aging fields led to a significant decline in output.

"In Africa, declining output from producing assets persisted. Algeria, the continent’s largest.  producer and a key supplier to Europe, launched its first upstream bidding round in nearly a decade at the end of 2024, aiming to revitalise development, attract foreign investments, and improve both domestic natural gas supply and its export capacity," the report stated.

Elsewhere on the continent, Nigeria and Angola saw slight production increases, while the Republic of Congo became a liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter with the startup of its first floating liquefaction unit.

This shift highlights the structural limitations of Africa's gas supply. The decline is attributed to a combination of factors: dependence on mature fields in Algeria, delays on several major projects, and a lack of investment to develop new capacity. For example, the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, shared by Mauritania and Senegal, only began adding capacity in 2025, and projects in Mozambique continue to be slowed by technical and security challenges.

For Europe, which increased its LNG imports by 23.6% in the first half of 2025, the reliability of African supply remains strategic. The report concludes that Africa's future as a gas supplier hinges on its ability to stabilize existing production and fast-track new projects, or risk compromising its export ambitions.

Abdel-Latif Boureima