Africa’s LPG Transition is About More Than Clean Cooking Fuel

BGN Group’s role in Africa’s LPG transition underscores the extent to which LPG supply, maritime logistics and Atlantic trade routes are key nodes in realigning the African energy landscape

Africa has often been seen in light of what it can offer the world, from critical minerals to oil or tropical biomass. Yet viewing the continent as a resource-rich frontier neglects the reality of local needs; in fact, it may also be the case that the world has a lot to offer Africa.

Many Africans from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, or Tanzania need cheaper and cleaner alternative fuels for heating, cooking, or industrial development. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is beginning to fill that need, burning more efficiently with higher energy output and producing far fewer air pollutants than gasoline or natural gas. 

According to the 2024 Africa Clean Cooking Summit, over 1 billion Africans currently depend on charcoal or biomass for fuel, significantly affecting regional climates and local health. Yet over 75% of new clean cooking in Africa has come from LPG, not natural gas or electricity.

The IEA has estimated that to achieve universal clean cooking in Africa, the continent will need $37 billion in development by 2030. LPG offers the most feasible solution to achieving these goals as it addresses health and environmental concerns immediately without becoming politically risky or requiring significant infrastructural overhaul. 

While the transition to using LPG is attractive, most African states struggle to satisfy domestic demand due to limited import terminals and refining capacity.

Nigeria, a major global producer of gas and fossil fuels, consumed nearly 2 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LPG in 2025. Much of this had to be imported, however, as the domestic Dangote refinery struggled to overcome technical issues and a variety of delays. Furthermore, South Africa has lost about 50% of its refining capacity since 2020 after three key plants were shuttered. Imports have subsequently increased by 140%.

Import dependence is being felt similarly across Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Senegal, opening up trade security concerns and leveraged economic dynamics. 

Imports of LPG mostly come from the United States as propane and butane for cooking fuels. US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has backed LPG expansion into Africa, encouraging investment and infrastructural development. Following this political impetus, a US-based LPG consortium announced a $10 billion plan for building import terminals, storage facilities, and shipment logistics across ten African countries.

The plan comes at a fitting time as countries like Nigeria fail to overcome energy production instability and drastic domestic price fluctuations. Côte d’Ivoire has shown greater promise in increasing reliable access to LPG; however, it comes at the cost of continued government subsidies. 

Private sector innovation could overcome many of the ongoing challenges facing LPG expansion. The consortium set the stage for increased investment, but a few global trading houses are already positioned to facilitate rapid growth through coordinating African LPG flows and trade and structuring financing and price formation.

For example, Petredec, a major LPG trader, launched the largest import terminal in Tanzania, expected to strengthen domestic energy security and achieve clean cooking objectives throughout the country. BGN Group, another shipping and logistics company, was initially the only supplier of LPG to Egypt and has sought to expand its operations extensively throughout Africa.

It has explored infrastructural development to meet high African demand while simultaneously offering supply chain solutions for LPG procurement. BGN is one of the biggest offtakers of US LPG to Africa but works apolitically to exert structural development in Africa without tying aid or being constrained by national political interests.

Without proper import terminals, premium costs can rise as much as 20% more than in global markets. But expansion is occurring rapidly; Petredec’s terminal in Tanzania will be dwarfed by Rostam Aziz’s 30,000-tonne terminal in Mombasa, Kenya, approved in 2025. Nigerian company Asharami Synergy PLC was also approved to build an LPG facility in Kenya, while other countries like Côte d’Ivoire or South Africa are incentivising projects and capacity through subsidies or government initiatives.

The development of these terminals will accelerate the fuel transition in Africa, reducing the cost of LPG and contributing to supply reliability. Efforts by the BGN Group has come alongside terminal development to meet the need for hybrid shipping models along Africa’s fragmented coastal markets. 

Africa’s port systems are often outdated, with older and shallower terminals unable to receive large gas carriers (VLGCs). BGN’s versatile trading capacity, however, has served to enable new areas of demand, facilitating the initial stages of capacity development later on.

Maritime control over LPG supply creates geostrategic projections for energy growth in Africa, affecting prices upstream and shaping how Africa is reliably supplied. BGN is one of the key Western-aligned traders that supplies Africa with LPG. Middle Eastern suppliers have trailed US-led importers, and Chinese companies have largely avoided LPG, focusing instead on port development.

The African connection to Western sources of energy supplies also increases integration into Atlantic trade routes and decreases the flow of capital to the East. 

LPG in Africa, thus, forecasts a complex web of development, dependent on trade dynamics, maritime accessibility, infrastructural investment, and private-public sector cooperation. Ultimately, the paradigm will unfold to provide cleaner cooking fuels, contributing to a healthier environment and healthier people throughout Africa.

The important role of US-dominated supply, critical traders like BGN, and investment consortia will shape Africa’s energy transition for years to come, even potentially changing external alignments away from China and towards the West. 

#FeaturedPost