Benjamin AUGE
Associate Research Fellow, Africa Studies Center / Center for Energy and Climate
Research Interests:
- Oil, gas, governance
- Hydrocarbon exploitation in transboundary and disputed areas
- African diplomacies and relations between Africa and the Arab world
- Algeria, Nigeria, Mauritania, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mozambique
Benjamin Augé is an Associate Research Fellow at Ifri since June 2010. He is a PhD graduate in geography from the French Institute of Geopolitics (University of Paris 8). He is otherwise Chief Editor of Africa Energy Intelligence, a newsletter focused on oil & gas issues in Africa. He teaches oil and gas geopolitics at the University of Nouakchott in Mauritania and at the Instituto Nacional de Relacoes Internationais (ISRI) in Mozambique. He is also a guest speaker at the diplomatic academy of Netherlands (Clingendael).
His research focuses on the political management of the hydrocarbons in African states. Benjamin Augé covers conflicts between different stakeholders (local, national, and international) for the control of oil zones, as well as in the border disputes linked to shared oil and gas basins. Benjamin Augé also works on the relations between the African continent and external partners (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Cuba and Israel).
The sharp rebound in oil prices since the second half of 2020, to nearly $70 per barrel in May 2021, represents only a temporary respite for oil-dependent African economies that must change their economic model very quickly.
Whereas the strong ties between France and its former colonies in Africa have been studied extensively, the relationships between Portugal and Lusophone Africa have attracted less attention. This editorial offers insights into the political, economic, and diplomatic interactions between Lisbon...
Since he came to power in 2009, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not made Israeli-African relations a priority in his foreign policy.
The vast gas discoveries in Mozambique, some 160 trillion cubic feet (4,530 billion cubic meters), will make this very poor country (6th lowest gross national income (GNI) per capita – the lowest in Africa) one of the world’s future major producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) within two...
Until recently, Saudi Arabia was the country out of the Gulf countries that had the greatest number of diplomatic missions in Africa (27[1]).
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East Africa has the potential to experience a gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export boom in the coming years due to several projects that have been released.
In 2017, the coming to power of João Lourenço put an end to nearly four decades of rule by the former head of state, José Eduardo Dos Santos.
On June 5th 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar and agreed to isolate the Emirate via an air and land blockade.
Recent offshore gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean, primarily in Egypt as well as in Israel, but also around Cyprus, are dramatically changing these countries' energy perspectives and economies, and also influence geopolitical balances in the region.
The July 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government not only resulted in a dramatic upheaval in Turkey, it also had a significant impact on the structure of its international relations and its networks of influence abroad.
Angola is expected to formally announce the end of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos' controversial 37-year rule Saturday, and name a successor to lead the ailing African oil-producing country.
Aljazeera Center for Studies, March 2015
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