AFRICA'S PETROLEUM ENGINEERS ARE LEAVING
The continent is not just losing oil revenue. It is losing the minds needed to reverse the decline, and the institutions meant to stop that from happening are running on empty. AI Generated Theme Image When the Strait of Hormuz closed in February 2026, and crude prices spiked sixty per cent within weeks, the conversation everywhere turned to tankers, sanctions, and supply routes. Very few people asked the more uncomfortable question: When the next shock hits, will Africa have enough of its own engineers to respond to it independently? The honest answer, right now, is no. That is not a political statement. It is an institutional one, and it starts with money. KAUST in Saudi Arabia was built with a $10 billion founding endowment drawn directly from state oil revenues, a figure that has since grown to $20 billion. Texas A&M, the academic engine of the Permian Basin, recently became the first university in Texas to cross $1 billion in annual research expenditure. The University of Mine...