Wit h a continent rich in natural resources, such as oil and gas, many of Africa’s regions are working towards building their own functioning national economies for a more sustainable future. A drive to increase the development and productivity will not only support their economies but will help to deliver power to regions that currently do not have access to electricity, which accounts for nearly half of all Africans. An increased demand in natural gases, a cleaner solution, is critical in helping lift African regions out of poverty and helping support the economic and energy needs, while transitioning away from coal.Natural gases are by far the most economical and sustainable way of producing the power needed to support the drive towards a more sustainable economy.M&S Logistics has seen an increased demand in the oil and gas sector, says Kreason Pillay, director Africa, India and Middle East. “We have invested heavily in experienced oil and gas personnel to further bolster our ongoing specialised projects. Some have included on-site active field support in the Caspian region, managing the on-shore and offshore transport of drilling agents, tank storage farms and methanol for valued partners. More recently we provided technical support for lined mixing tank containers for an African-based offshore provider and added new 20ft DNV 2.7.1 containers to our oil and gas equipment f leet.” However, if Africa were to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet climate change, it would need every power station to shift towards renewable sources. In an ironic twist, for Africa to tackle its emissions it would need to explore and develop its oil and gas reserves further in order to fund the transition. Furthermore, says Pillay, for a continent that emits considerably less CO2 than other countries, undermining its opportunities for economic growth in order to reach global targets, it could potentially be economic suicide. Aside from the global move towards reducing emissions, Africa faces other challenges in the oil and gas sector.“Volatility in the crude prices over the years has been especially challenging for the oil and gas sector globally, particularly in Africa where new exploratory project areas have been turned on and off. This has created uncertainty alongside the impact sustained from Covid-19,” says Pillay. “However, we are seeing the market slowly starting to change and the price of crude is on the increase. This will hopefully see a rise in new exploration activities in Africa, increasing projects, requirements for raw materials and drilling equipment.”M&S Logistics’ projects division is, however, ready to meet the demand for logistics opportunities in the oil and gas sector, Pillay says. “There have always been great opportunities for logistics providers. Infrastructure in Africa is still catching up with other global countries, but we have seen more logistics companies providing bespoke solutions, one thing we pride ourselves on at M&S Logistics. We will always try to find the perfect logistics solutions for our partners in the oil and gas sector to help grow and develop in Africa.”In terms of the outlook, Pillay is upbeat. “The price of oil is increasing and we believe that many projects will be sanctioned, if only to facilitate further transition by some of the major exploration players. With the demand for oil and gas growing stronger, there is hope that existing projects and new sites will continue to operate for a long time to come. We will also look at the potential of providing companies with effective support and maintenance of existing platforms.”Making use of their natural resources could ultimately be Africa’s greatest achievement as the time to grow and develop is on the horizon.
