The African Energy Chamber is making an unusually blunt argument about the continent’s energy future: Africa should stop apologising for wanting more energy. Its latest provocation comes in the form of “Drill Baby Drill”, a limited-edition Chardonnay and Pinot Noir produced with South Africa’s Lothian Vineyards in the Elgin Valley. Created for the global energy community around African Energy Week, the wine is a message that energy development, like winemaking, can be an expression of African capability and pride.
At the centre of the argument is a frustration with what the Chamber sees as “energy guilt” surrounding Africa’s oil, gas and coal resources. Much of the global climate debate asks African countries to move away from hydrocarbons even as hundreds of millions of Africans still lack reliable electricity and many economies struggle to industrialise. The Chamber’s counterargument is straightforward: energy poverty is itself a development crisis. If factories cannot operate, businesses cannot grow and households cannot access reliable power, then development remains out of reach. For the Chamber, the priority should therefore be to use every viable energy resource available—including oil and gas while building the technologies and infrastructure needed for a broader energy transition.
That position is wrapped deliberately in the language of African excellence. The wine becomes a metaphor: South Africa can produce a world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the unique conditions of the Elgin Valley, so why should Africans assume they cannot also build world-class energy companies, infrastructure and technologies? The underlying argument is about ownership. Africa should not simply be a market where other countries sell energy technologies, nor should it be treated only as a source of minerals and hydrocarbons. It should have the freedom to determine how its resources are developed and to capture more of the economic value created from them.
The “Drill Baby Drill” name is therefore intentionally provocative. The phrase has long been associated with aggressive expansion of oil and gas production in the United States, and using it for an African energy-sector wine is a clear statement of intent. The Chamber is saying that development should come before embarrassment. That does not necessarily mean rejecting renewable energy or the transition altogether. Rather, its argument is that Africa’s transition must reflect Africa’s circumstances: a continent that needs dramatically more electricity, industrial capacity, jobs and investment. The label’s message, “An initiative to make energy poverty history” captures that philosophy in a single sentence.
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There is a deeper question underneath the wine, however. Can Africa pursue energy abundance without repeating the mistakes of the past? Developing oil and gas can provide electricity, industrial feedstock, government revenue and jobs, but the value created must translate into productive economies rather than simply another cycle of exporting resources. The same is true of renewables, critical minerals and green hydrogen. The real measure of African energy success will not simply be how many barrels are produced or how many megawatts are installed, but whether energy becomes the foundation for manufacturing, businesses and rising living standards. That is ultimately what the Chamber’s provocation is forcing the debate to confront: Africa does not merely need a cleaner energy system. It needs an energy system large enough to power its development.
