Central Africa’s Pipeline Dream Moves Closer to Reality.

Wednesday 23rd July 2025

非洲记者报道

The Central African Pipeline System (CAPS) is edging closer to becoming a landmark energy infrastructure project, with the backing of multiple regional and international stakeholders. As efforts to eradicate energy poverty across Africa intensify, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, President of the Strategic Partnership and Fund Committee for CAPS, returns to the African Energy Week (AEW) as a key speaker, armed with new momentum and significant project milestones.

At the heart of the CAPS initiative is an integrated 6,500-kilometer network of oil, gas, and LPG pipelines, refineries, power plants, and storage terminals aimed at optimizing the transport and beneficiation of Central Africa’s vast hydrocarbon resources. The region holds an estimated 125.3 billion barrels of crude oil and over 620 trillion cubic feet of gas, resources that have historically remained underutilized due to infrastructure constraints and limited regional collaboration.

A major step forward occurred with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO), and the Central Africa Business & Energy Forum. This agreement signals unified intent among up to 11 participating countries to launch a comprehensive feasibility study. Their joint commitment underscores the strategic value of CAPS not just for domestic energy supply, but also for regional industrialization and trade.

The recent establishment of the African Energy Bank by APPO and the African Export-Import Bank is another vital development. With a funding platform finally emerging to support megaprojects like CAPS, the pipeline initiative is now closer to securing the capital it needs. If financed, CAPS could fundamentally shift Central Africa’s energy landscape, reducing reliance on fuel imports and unlocking significant downstream economic benefits.

African Energy Week remains the go-to platform for aligning such transformative projects with global investment flows. Under this year’s theme, “Invest in African Energy: Positioning Africa as the Global Energy Champion,” the event will provide Lima and his team the opportunity to showcase how CAPS aligns with Africa’s industrial and energy goals.

The pipeline’s reach extending through Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and more—demonstrates its regional ambition. Beyond energy access, CAPS is expected to trigger industrial booms, create jobs, and help address the continent’s ongoing challenge of clean cooking fuel access for nearly a billion people.

Stakeholders like the African Energy Chamber see CAPS as a vital step toward reducing Africa’s infrastructure gap. As nations continue to expand upstream exploration and extraction, the ability to process, transport, and monetize hydrocarbons locally will be essential to truly owning Africa’s energy future.