While Africa is not immediately synonymous with hydrocarbon wealth, the continent boasts 18 crude oil producers. This includes seven OPEC members, which collectively account for some 21% of global oil production, according to estimates by the US Energy Information Administration. Africa is also an increasingly important player in liquified natural gas (LNG), which is in growing demand as Europe weans itself off Russian gas pipelines, and Asia retires coal power stations. Beyond petroleum, the continent is receiving major investments in renewable power and future-facing green hydrogen. Although there is some overlap, the continent’s energy producers can loosely be clustered…
Nick Branson
Nick Branson
Nick Branson is an Associate Director in the Intelligence and Analysis team at Africa Practice, where he leads engagements on the energy transition. Nick has helped international investors in energy, mining and infrastructure projects navigate complex political, regulatory and macroeconomic risks across the continent. He holds a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy and a MPhil in African Politics from SOAS, University of London. Nick speaks French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Over the past two decades, a series of interconnected conflicts has blighted the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with a disproportionate impact on women and girls. Combatants from myriad rebel groups and the Congolese armed forces have used rape as a weapon of war. While it is nearly impossible to obtain credible statistics on the number of victims, several reports have recorded a pattern of sexual and gender-based violence that has been inflicted on women and girls. Despite numerous peace deals, instability continues to affect the country’s eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema. Victims of sexual violence…
Liberation movements: after the war More than any other continent, Africa boasts an abundance of former national liberation movements serving in government. Understanding the history of these organisations, particularly the manner in which they attained power, is crucial to comprehending their thinking and behaviour. Two distinct types of resistance movement came into being on the continent. Across much of southern Africa, liberation struggles were linked to stalled decolonisation or delayed transitions from white minority government to black majority rule. Elsewhere, armed struggles were analogous to civil war between indigenous populations. In both situations, the origins of revolutionary struggle lay…
