(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), participated in the Fourth Annual Africa Energy Leadership Dialogue, convened by S&P Global Commodity Insights at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The dialogue brought together ministers, senior government officials, private investors, infrastructure developers, operators, and financial institutions to exchange views on solutions for accelerating infrastructure development across the African continent.
Hamel underlined the critical importance of addressing how risk is assessed in African oil and gas projects. He cautioned that sovereign and political risks are frequently overestimated, and that this overestimation permeates into the overall risk profile of projects.
As a consequence, borrowing costs are inflated, investor appetite is diminished, and final investment decisions are often delayed.
He invited S&P Global to examine more closely the methodologies employed by rating agencies in assessing sovereign and country risks, and to explore how these assessments negatively affect the financing of energy infrastructure in Africa.
The Secretary General identified regulatory risks originating in developed countries as an additional challenge, particularly frameworks in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
EU Methane Emissions Regulation is an example of a unilateral measure with extraterritorial effect, imposing stringent methane reduction thresholds on oil and gas projects in developing countries, including those in Africa.
He noted that such measures can impact not only future projects but also existing contractual arrangements, thereby increasing uncertainty and undermining investment security.
He also drew attention to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as another unilateral instrument of concern, arguing that these frameworks are inconsistent with the nationally determined nature of international climate agreements and non-discriminatory approaches of established trade principles.
Hamel also emphasised the need for balanced and equitable approaches to both risk assessment and regulatory design.
He encouraged S&P Global to undertake further research into the misperception of sovereign risk in Africa and the extraterritorial impact of developed-country regulations on African oil and gas projects.

MENAFN04102025000067011011ID1110150592