Oil and Gas to Power Africa’s Data Center Boom

African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 will host a dedicated AI and Data Center Track positioning oil and gas as a critical enabler of Africa’s data center expansion.

• Main announcement: AEW 2026 (Cape Town, October 12–16) will feature an AI and Data Center Track that frames oil and gas as a provider of reliable power, capital investment and industrial infrastructure to support data center growth and AI deployment; the event is explicitly linking energy development with data localization and scalable digital infrastructure.
• Background and details: Angola launched a national data center and government platform in April 2026 to improve cybersecurity and localize sensitive data; Sonangol inaugurated a 920 m2 corporate data center on 27 February; Raxio Group commissioned Angola’s first Tier III facility via a $30 million investment; MainOne opened Lekki II (May 2025); TotalEnergies and Teraco are developing a 120 MW solar plant in Free State to power Johannesburg facilities; Dangote Group targets $100 billion revenue by 2030 backed by at least $40 billion in investment.