The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) confirms a significant strategic shift in the United States’ approach to Africa, transitioning from a focus on aid to a model centered on trade, investment, and strategic resource security. This change has significant implications for Africa’s energy industry, particularly in oil, gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sectors, where the continent holds significant reserves and untapped potential.

By redefining Africa as a partner in economic development rather than a recipient of aid, the NSS sets the stage for increased U.S. involvement in energy projects that align with both American strategic interests and African development goals.

Strategic Investment and Geopolitical Dynamics

The NSS emphasizes a shift from foreign aid to a trade- and investment-focused relationship with Africa, highlighting the energy sector as a priority for U.S. commercial engagement. This reflects a broader strategy of viewing energy, and in particular oil and gas, as a key lever for strengthening U.S. geopolitical influence.

Africa, with its significant proven oil and gas reserves and growing LNG export capacity, fits naturally within this framework. The NSS also aims to position the U.S. as a counter to foreign influence on Africa from other states, particularly China, by encouraging U.S. investment in Africa’s energy resources. This opens opportunities for African oil and gas producers, and governments of producing states, to attract more U.S. capital and potentially to diversify partnerships away from Chinese investors.

LNG as a Strategic Asset

LNG is highlighted in the NSS as a technology in which the U.S. can invest profitably while advancing strategic objectives like supply chain resilience. Projects in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Mauritania and Senegal represent some of the world’s largest untapped LNG opportunities. The NSS positions LNG not just as a commercial opportunity but as a tool for geopolitical alignment, supporting African LNG development to create alternative global gas supplies, enable American companies to shape market dynamics, and strengthen ties with African states controlling critical resources.

From Aid to Investment: Implications for Capital Flows

The NSS encourages a pivot from foreign aid to mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships and signals U.S. government support for hydrocarbon development, creating an environment for increased U.S. private-sector investment in African oil and gas.

This is particularly significant given the overall macroeconomic and structural headwinds—including high borrowing costs for African countries and more challenging financing environments for hydrocarbon projects—that have impacted investment in large-scale capital-intensive oil and gas projects in Africa.

Stability and Conflict Mediation

The NSS identifies conflict mediation as a key component of U.S. engagement in Africa, targeting political instability that has hindered energy investment. U.S. diplomatic efforts can reduce risks for energy companies by fostering stability and predictable investment environments. Where American strategic interests align with investment opportunities, such as securing access to critical minerals, Washington may increase security cooperation in order to foster an environment for U.S. investment. An example of this is the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s announcement of letters of intent to deepen U.S. partnerships with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda following the leaders of the two countries signing a peace agreement at a summit hosted by President Trump in Washington.

Strategic Alignment and the Future of African Energy

The NSS offers African governments alternative financing, access to advanced energy technologies, and partnerships to strengthen regulatory frameworks.

For the U.S., Africa is part of a global strategy to solidify energy dominance, prevent other states from securing strategic resources, and build resilient supply chains linked to American commercial ecosystems. The NSS therefore signals a significant evolution in U.S.-Africa relations, with energy positioned at the center of this strategic vision.

Conclusion

The NSS signals a significant evolution in U.S.–Africa relations, with energy—especially oil, gas, and LNG—positioned at the center of this new strategic vision. By linking energy investment to national security priorities and economic strategy, the NSS creates a framework within which African hydrocarbons become not just commercial assets but geopolitical ones.

For Africa, this offers the potential for increased investment and more diverse partnerships; for the U.S., it supports broader ambitions of energy leadership and global influence. The coming years will show whether this strategic alignment translates into sustained, meaningful investment across the continent’s energy landscape.