To honour one of his election promises for 2021, Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso recently laid the foundation stone for the future public university in Loango. The construction of this building, which is to house an oil and gas school, is stirring up debate about the choice between exploiting hydrocarbons and developing renewable energies in Africa.
For a long time, Congolese people interested in oil and gas jobs had to train in the capital Brazzaville or move abroad. The situation will be reversed in favour of people from faraway cities by the first half of 2026, when the Institut Supérieur du Pétrole, Gaz, Mines et Energies du Congo will be inaugurated. This is one of the future schools that will make up the Loango public university currently under construction near the port city of Pointe-Noire.
The 280-hectare site is being managed by the Chinese companies China Jiangzu and SZTC. The first phase of work will cost the government of this Central African country 35 billion CFA francs (53.4 million euros). The new petroleum school, in partnership with the École nationale supérieure du pétrole et des moteurs (IFP School) in France, reflects the determination of Dénis Sassou Nguesso’s government to make its mark on the global hydrocarbons market.
The Congo, which produces 339,000 barrels a day according to the French Development Agency (AFD), became the 7th African country to join the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2018, alongside Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Like the future Loango oil and gas school, this membership is not to the liking of environmentalists and high-level international climate bodies (COP), who are campaigning against the exploitation of such natural resources, whose extraction and combustion are deemed polluting.
Congo straddles the divide between hydrocarbons and renewable energies
But the authorities in Brazzaville intend to navigate both sides of the equation, i.e. between the hydrocarbon industry and the diversification of the electricity mix through the development of clean energies. On the first front, the idea is undoubtedly to position the country as one of the world’s biggest oil exporters for the automotive (fuel) and textile (clothing) markets, at a time when consumption needs are growing in several African, Asian and American countries, despite their impact on the environment.
The Congo is no less aware of the second renewable energy plan, and is gradually refining its decarbonisation policy. In this area, the country of 6 million inhabitants is increasing the number of clean energy installations. This is the case of the hybrid solar power plant (3.4 MW) at Impfondo, built by a subsidiary of the Belgian company ABC Contracting. On completion, the facility will have 11,520 solar panels capable of supplying 6,480 kVA to cope with load shedding.
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To accelerate its energy independence, the Congo is also focusing on research and development (R&D) through the Oyo Renewable Energy Research Centre. The facility, which is open to researchers from all over Africa, was inaugurated with great fanfare in May 2023 in the town of Oyo. It was attended by the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who also straddles the gap between fossil fuels and renewable energies.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
