According to her, Africa’s vast gas reserves will have limited impact on development unless countries invest adequately in the infrastructure required to process, transport, store and distribute the resource.
Ms Blay made the call at Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2026, where she participated in a panel discussion on the theme, “Building the Backbone: Midstream Gas Infrastructure as the Link Between Supply and Demand.”
The discussion focused on the role of midstream infrastructure in connecting gas production to markets, industries and power generation, while improving the efficiency and resilience of Africa’s energy value chain.
Ms Blay stressed that closing the gap between gas supply and demand would require deliberate investment in infrastructure, as well as stronger collaboration among African countries and industry stakeholders.
“Africa has the gas resources. The next frontier is building the infrastructure that connects those resources to the people, industries and economies that need them,” she said.
She called for stronger partnerships among African governments, national oil and gas companies, private investors and development institutions to mobilise the capital needed to expand gas infrastructure across the continent.
Ms Blay said such investments would not only improve access to energy but also support industrialisation, strengthen energy security and create sustainable economic opportunities.
Ghana’s gas infrastructure
For Ghana, Ms Blay said the development of gas infrastructure remained critical to the country’s energy security, industrialisation and broader economic development agenda.
She noted that Ghana’s experience in the midstream gas sector could contribute to efforts to deepen regional cooperation and attract investment into Africa’s energy infrastructure.
Her participation at AOW 2026 also provided an opportunity to highlight Ghana’s experience in developing its gas infrastructure while advocating greater regional collaboration to address infrastructure gaps.
Ms Blay’s call comes amid growing recognition of the need for African countries to move beyond the extraction of natural resources and invest in the infrastructure and systems needed to deliver gas to industries, power producers and consumers.
She said strategic investment in gas infrastructure would be critical to Africa’s efforts to achieve energy security, support industrial growth and translate its natural gas resources into sustainable economic benefits.
Source: citinews
