Africa faces 86 million tonne fuel shortfall by 2040

Diesel drips out of a fuel hose at a petrol station in Saint-Etienne-de-Montluc, western France, on April 15, 2026, as US-Israel war on Iran has roiled global energy and equities markets, sending oil prices skyrocketing after Tehran virtually closed the key Strait of Hormuz. [AFP]

The Iran war has exposed Africa's vulnerability to fuel chokepoints and is heading for an 86 million tonne fuel shortfall by 2040, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) said Thursday.

Africa imports over 70 percent of its refined fuel and some $230 billion worth of essential goods, including fuel, food, plastics, steel, and fertiliser each year, the AFC said in a report released in Nairobi.