Deloitte has identified five interlinked challenges facing the oil and gas sector on the African continent.

According to its 2025 Deloitte West Africa Oil and Gas Outlook, they are constrained access to funding for independents, a persistent cost premium effect, ongoing security threats to critical infrastructure, limited regulatory collaboration and insufficient enabling infrastructure.

While some of these issues are structural and longstanding, the report highlighted that others have been exacerbated by new political, economic, and energy transition dynamics.

Together, these challenges define a uniquely African landscape for 2025, one that demands adaptive thinking and long-term resolve.

Capital Remains Most Defining Pressure for Oil Producers

Meanwhile, the report says access to capital remains the most defining pressure point for the region’s independent oil producers.

“While international oil companies (IOCs) continue to operate with deep financial buffers and global portfolio balance sheets, African independents face tightening margins and investor hesitancy. ESG [Environmental, Sustainability and Governance] pressures, divestment from fossil fuels, poor corporate governance practices, and perceived regulatory and political risks in African markets have made capital both scarce and expensive”, the report mentioned.

According to the report, this capital drought has led to a concentration of additional investments among those few big players with access.