Arturo Gil visited Cape Town last week as part of efforts to deepen energy cooperation between Venezuela and African stakeholders following recent agreements aimed at strengthening investment and technical collaboration in the sector.
The visit comes after a February trip to Caracas by the African Energy Chamber (AEC), where an agreement was signed between Venezuelan petroleum authorities and the chamber to enhance cooperation across the oil, gas and broader energy industries.
During the Cape Town meeting, Gil was joined by Carlos Feo Acevedo, while the AEC delegation was led by Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk. Representatives from Energy Capital & Power, including CEO James Chester, also participated in the discussions.
The talks focused on expanding investment flows, strengthening technical cooperation and exploring ways to leverage Venezuela’s long-standing oil and gas expertise to support Africa’s energy resilience.
The meeting follows the AEC delegation’s visit to Caracas in late February, where discussions were held with Delcy Rodríguez, as well as officials from the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. and government ministries responsible for hydrocarbons and gas.
A key outcome of the Cape Town discussions was a commitment to strengthen workforce development across Africa’s energy sector. Under the initiative, the African Energy Chamber plans to engage between 10 and 15 African stakeholders to participate in specialised technical training programmes at Venezuela’s University of Hydrocarbons.
The programme is expected to support skills development and facilitate knowledge transfer between African and Venezuelan energy professionals.
Participants also explored opportunities to leverage Venezuela’s more than century-long experience in oil and gas production to support exploration and development in African markets. Ayuk noted geological similarities between Venezuela and African producers such as Namibia and Angola, suggesting that cooperation in geological data analysis could accelerate exploration activities.
The discussions also examined investment opportunities in Venezuela’s hydrocarbon sector, with officials highlighting the country’s extensive geological database built over more than 100 years of exploration activity.
According to the Venezuelan delegation, plans are underway to develop around 1,000 wells while optimizing thousands of previously drilled wells across the country’s upstream sector.
Natural gas development was also identified as a potential area of cooperation, particularly as African countries seek solutions to address widespread energy access challenges.
Industry estimates indicate that about 600 million people across Africa still lack access to electricity, while nearly one billion people do not have access to clean cooking solutions.
The meeting also highlighted the growing role of African independent oil companies in expanding production across the continent, with participants suggesting that these operators could support Venezuela’s efforts to increase output through brownfield redevelopment and the optimisation of mature oil assets.
The discussions form part of broader efforts to deepen collaboration between African and Venezuelan energy stakeholders as both regions seek to expand production, attract investment and address energy access challenges.
