The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has advanced plans to formalize structured energy cooperation with Venezuela following a high-level working visit to Caracas focused on hydrocarbon development, gas commercialization and technical capacity building.
The visit, which included meetings with Venezuela’s Vice Minister for Africa, Yuri Pimentel, centered on strengthening South–South collaboration across upstream investment, gas monetization and downstream industrial expansion. Officials from both sides framed oil and gas not as transitional fuels, but as strategic economic drivers essential to industrialization and energy access.
According to the AEC, discussions emphasized expanding participation of African energy companies in Venezuela’s upstream and downstream sectors, while encouraging Venezuelan firms to increase engagement across African markets. The approach, the Chamber noted, seeks long-term institutional alignment rather than short-term transactional partnerships.
A major component of the visit involved human capital development. In meetings with the Universidad Venezolana de los Hidrocarburos, both sides discussed structured training pathways for African professionals in oil and gas. Proposed programs include technical training in onshore and offshore hydrocarbon operations, as well as executive-level courses aimed at strengthening regulatory and operational expertise.
The AEC indicated that discussions are ongoing with stakeholders in Namibia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Senegal to align training initiatives with national energy priorities. Venezuela’s experience in heavy-oil production and offshore development was highlighted as particularly relevant for African producers expanding their resource bases.
NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC, said the visit underscored a shared development vision between Africa and Venezuela.
“Energy poverty remains one of the greatest barriers to economic growth across the Global South. Our focus is practical: strengthen cooperation, expand gas and petrochemical value chains and invest in the skills required to develop our resources responsibly and competitively,” he said.
African countries are scaling upstream production and accelerating gas commercialization, and the Chamber described partnerships grounded in technical exchange and industrial expansion as increasingly strategic. The working visit signals a push toward structured South–South energy alignment linking resource development, industrial policy and human capital development.
