Bloomberg: Africa’s oil and gas boom is in jeopardy

The dash for resources that saw explorers invest billions of dollars to tap promising oil fields from Ghana on the west coast to Tanzania on the east, is stalling as the global drop in crude prices pushes drillers to reconsider the high costs of exploration on the African continent.

For many drillers, 2014 was already failing to reach the promise seen in 2013 when half of the world’s 10 largest oil and gas finds were made in Africa. With oil prices dropping below $50 a barrel, analysts say they expect a more concentrated pullout in 2015.

“Now that we’re at another weak oil price, every company will be reviewing discretionary spending,” said Brendan Warn, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in London.
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