On the continent, oil majors Total, Shell and Eni have shifted their focus over to natural gas developments, but their renewable energy and carbon offset projects still make up a relatively small slice of their business.

This is part 1 of a 4-part series

Facing pressure from the public and Western regulators, as well as from shareholders and financial partners, oil industry majors, especially those based in Europe – chiefly Shell, BP, Total and Eni – have initiated an unprecedented transformation by voluntarily reducing their crude oil activities in favour of “greener” forms of energy.

This may be good news for environmental activists, but not so for Africa’s oil-producing countries that benefit from the tax revenues and jobs the industry brings.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Shell, recently announced the Anglo-Dutch group’s new strategy: after its oil production peaked in 2019, the company expects output to decline by 1 to 2% a year.

Read more on the site TheAfricaReport.com