AEW 2026: Excitement building as honorees revealed, licensing rounds loom, and US broadens energy push

With the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)’s investment ceiling rising from $60 billion to $205 billion following 2025 reauthorisation, and it continuing to approve new transactions in Africa this year, this month’s African Energy Week (AEW) is an ideal time for African operators to connect with a strong US presence, says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

“The DFC is better resourced than it has ever been, making this an opportune moment for African operators to make their case,” added Ayuk. “This conference is about making sure the capital and the projects actually find each other.”

At AEW 2026, being held across 12-16 October 2026, Josh Volz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the Middle East at the US. Department of Energy, will bring an agenda where the United States is widening its engagement with Africa’s energy sector, combining government-backed finance, technology partnerships and private-sector investment across markets from Mozambique and Nigeria to Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There will be a substantial US presence at AEW 2026, say organisers, with Volz being joined by US senator Ted Cruz, US Energy Association President and CEO Mark W Menezes, DFC Managing Director and Regional Head of Africa Vibhuti Jain, and several other US-linked executives and policymakers.

Jain will also participate in the dedicated US-Africa Energy & Investment Forum on October 14, which will bring together US and African companies, investors, and policymakers to discuss capital, technology, and commercial partnerships.

Speaking at last year’s AEW event, Volz argued that African countries should determine their own energy pathways, saying that, “International governments should not stand in the way of how African nations determine their energy futures”, while pointing to to $65 billion in existing US private-sector investment in Africa and a $2.5 billion US government pledge to support energy expansion. “We are eager to hear how best we can, from a US perspective, partner with Africa,” he added then.

For African energy markets, say AEW organisers, the expanding US role reaches across project finance, LNG, upstream development, electricity infrastructure, grid technology, and clean cooking. Volz’s participation at AEW 2026 comes as those relationships increasingly move from broad policy discussions toward individual projects, commercial partnerships and technology deployment across the continent.

Elsewhere during AEW 2026, the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) is inviting investors, exploration companies, financial institutions, and industry stakeholders to the official launch of the Liberia 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round at 11am on 14 October 2026 at CTICC2 – The Orchid, Cape Town,

The launch will provide an opportunity to hear directly from LPRA leadership on the licensing round, available offshore opportunities, qualification requirements, licensing process, and investment framework. The round opens access to prospective deepwater and ultra-deepwater acreage across the Liberia and Harper Basins, supported by an expanding portfolio of seismic and technical data.

Meanwhile, AEW organisers have announced that Alassani Fousséni, Director of Cabinet at Togo’s Ministry Delegate for Energy and Mineral Resources, will participate as a speaker at AEW 2026 in Cape Town. Fousséni joins as Togo advances new solar, thermal and grid projects aimed at expanding generation capacity and achieving universal electricity access by 2030.

More than a conference, AEW 2026 will convene ministers, national oil companies (NOCs), international operators, independents, financiers, and service companies, with a program structured around commercial engagement. In addition to its strategic conference stages, the event incorporates live deal signings, structured business matchmaking and closed-door meetings. More than 9,000 delegates from over 100 countries are preparing to make their way to Cape Town, bringing with them new opportunities for investment, collaboration and project advancement.

And alongside an agenda full of thought leadership, exciting new projects and opportunities, and burgeoning cross-border partnerships, AEW 2026 will honour those who’ve paved the way for Africa’s energy future.

This week AEW 2026 organisers announced that Tim O’Hanlon, Senior Adviser at Panoro Energy and one of the African upstream industry’s most experienced executives, Andrew Inglis, Chairman and CEO of international energy company Kosmos Energy, and João Filipe, Founder and CEO of CABSHIP, will each receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at this year’s Gala Dinner & Awards in Cape Town.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, O’Hanlon has worked across almost the entire continent, helping open frontier basins, negotiate licenses, build companies and establish relationships between investors and African governments. His dedication has not only resulted in major project advancements, but has reshaped energy systems across Africa. “Tim O’Hanlon is one of those rare people whose career is inseparable from the story of modern African exploration,” said NJ Ayuk. “For decades, he has gone into frontier markets, built relationships, backed African potential and helped bring investors into places others overlooked… Tim has never stopped believing in this continent. Africa’s energy industry is stronger because people like him were willing to take the first step."

Likewise, Andrew Inglis, whose award recognises a career spanning more than four decades, a dedication to advancing African energy projects and ongoing commitment to strengthening community development across the continent, represents the kind of leadership that Africa needs, said Ayuk. Leadership that finds resources, invests for the long term and understands that the ultimate measure of success is the opportunity created around those investments. "From GTA and Ghana to the entrepreneurs, workers and communities Kosmos has supported, his impact extends far beyond barrels and molecules. He has helped build businesses, develop people and demonstrate the enormous value that responsible investment can create across Africa."

Filipe, the founder and CEO of CABSHIP, is recognised for his tireless commitment to strengthening Angolan participation across the oil and gas value chain and his success in establishing a competitive local company capable of working alongside international operators to advance Angola’s oil and gas industry. “João Filipe has shown what local content should ultimately achieve: strong African companies that can sit across the table from the biggest international operators as credible, competitive partners,” states NJ Ayuk. “He has not only built CABSHIP; he has championed Angolan entrepreneurs, created opportunities for young people and pushed for a private sector capable of competing at international standards. His success sends an important message to entrepreneurs across Africa – local companies can build scale, win trust and lead.”

Africa Legal is proud to be a media partner of AEW 2026, and to be able to offer our readers an exclusive discount on standard delegate rates for this year's event. Contact wendy@africa-legal.com for further details.