Libya’s Energy Future: Industry and Political risk outlook was launched at a Chatham House seminar in London on 20 July.
Based on African Energy’s unparalleled track record in following Libya’s energy story and careful, originally sourced reporting from Libya and global markets, this updated and enlarged special report analyses the major issues and the financial and political trends influencing development of Libya's energy industries. Read more
A detailed guide to electrification in Africa
A 400-page study published in Paris by Karthala, L’Electricité au Coeur des Défis Africains (available in French only) includes an overview of the continental electricity supply industry and examples of generation, transmission and distribution projects. A chapter on decentralised rural electrification is followed by another on the establishment of decentralised services companies.
The book draws on articles and materials from a number of experts and sources, including African Energy.
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AfricaHardball is an executive dialogue that brings together policy-makers, industry leaders and analysts to discuss the key political issues affecting the African energy industry in frank and open terms.
The last AfricaHardball roundtable was held on 29 June, prior to the start of EnergyNet Ltd’s annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF), in Basel. Read more
On the page below you will find a selection of articles from the African Energy archive. All items preceded by a padlock symbol require a subscription.
The emergence of a new Libyan fund as a vehicle for acquiring a substantial minority stake in Italy’s Eni shows the cash-rich Jamahiriya mobilising to take best advantage of the global financial crisis, writes John Hamilton. Issue 152, 12 December 2008.more
NOC gets general manager
The Libyan government has created a new position of general manager at NOC to delegate much of the daily operational responsibility away from chairman Shukri Ghanem. The General People’s Committee appointed Ali Al-Saghir Mohammed Saleh, one of Libya’s senior exploration professionals, to the post on 1 December. Issue 152, 12 December 2008.more
Libya opens up to enhanced oil recovery projects
Major production contracts that NOC has renegotiated with three of its major international partners over the past year have opened the door to the first EOR projects in veteran fields, writes John Hamilton, recently in Vienna. Issue 150, 14 November 2008.more
More success for Verenex
Area 47 operator Verenex Energy has drilled two successful exploration wells in Block 2, H1 and I1-47/02. Issue 150, 14 November 2008.more
Libyan exploration boom poses special challenges
Libya’s E&P boom is continuing in its messy and unpredictable way, seemingly untouched by the uncertainties that continue to trouble other parts of the Jamahiriya’s economic transformation, writes John Hamilton in Tripoli. Issue 149, 31 October 2008.more
Oil service quandaries for IOCs in Libya as locals seek business
The number of local participants in the services market has expanded dramatically in recent years thanks to the twin policies of abolishing National Oil Corporation’s foreign trade arms Umm Al-Jawaby and Medoil, while simultaneously requiring branches of international companies to establish joint ventures with Libyan partners. Issue 149, 31 October 2008.more
Libya links new friends to convoluted deal
In a move typical of the convoluted deals so beloved of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s Jamahiriya (State of the Masses), African Energy hears that Libya is turning to some of its new friends with requests of help to fund the big compensation settlements demanded by the Lockerbie bombing families. Issue 147, 4 October 2008.more
Leader hints at electricity sell-off
Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi has raised the possibility that the General Electric Company of Libya (Gecol) could be privatised. “Pay money and the electricity company will become commercial, give it money and it will supply you with electricity,” he said in a speech marking the 39th anniversary of his Great El-Fatah Revolution. Issue 147, 4 October 2008.more
NOC reduces output after accidents, maintenance
National Oil Corporation (NOC) has been obliged to reduce oil output by as much as 15% owing to the combined effects of accidents and routine maintenance. Issue 147, 4 October 2008.more
Verenex agrees boundary changes
Canada’s Verenex Energy Inc says it has “cleared the way” for drilling in prospective areas in the north of Area 47, where it has already made significant discoveries in the south, after agreeing a boundary change with National Oil Corporation (AE 145/15). Issue 147, 4 October 2008. more
After the failure of a promised Chinese farm-in on its Namibian acreage, AIM-listed Circle Oil has cut a deal for the newly structured (out of Tamoil Africa) Libya Oil Holding (LOH) to become a major shareholder. The move shows how Libyan players linked to Tripoli’s nascent sovereign wealth fund, Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), are emerging as significant players in African resources and a range of other markets( AE 142/1). Issue 146, 22 September 2008.more
Canadians in asset swap deal
Calgary-based Canadian Superior Energy has teamed up with the Tunisian/Libyan Joint Exploration, Production, and Petroleum Services Company (Joint Oil), signing an exploration and production sharing agreement for the offshore 7 November Block and an asset swap agreement. Issue 146, 22 September 2008.more
Libya ‘to build oil pipeline’
Libya Oil Holding (LOH) has announced plans to build and operate a 140km oil pipeline between Muanda on the Atlantic coast and the Congo River port of Matadi. Issue 146, 22 September 2008.more
Verenex extends success with new find
Canadian independent Verenex Energy has maintained its 100% drilling success rate with an end July find in the north of Area 47 in the Ghadames Basin. Issue 145, 5 September 2008.more
Agoco finds oil
National Oil Corporation subsidiary Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco) has struck oil with its D1-NC129 exploration well in the Sloug Depression Basin Issue 145, 5 September 2008.more
Egypt/Libya: Gas plans boost ties
Libyan investments in Egypt will increase from $2bn to $10bn over the next two years, according to an official announcement made during a visit by General Secretary (prime minister) Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi to Cairo, at the head of a business delegation as Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi was touring the country. The main projects will be a gas pipeline from Tobruk to Alexandria and a 250,000 b/d oil refinery to the west of Alexandria, which according to media reports “will be paid for in full by the Libyans”. Issue 145, 5 September 2008.more
Mediterranean oil search stirs up old border tensions
An upsurge of exploration interest in the sea area between Italy, Libya and Tunisia is stirring up a complex muddle of multi-faceted border disputes many of which are centred on Malta, write John Hamilton and Jon Marks, with cartography by David Burles. Issue 144, 1 August 2008. more
Repsol renews EPSAs for two blocks
Spain’s Repsol YPF and partners have signed new EPSA-4 contracts with National Oil Corporation extending the contracts for blocks NC115 and NC186 in the Murzuq Basin (AE 143/24). The agreement follows a number of similar renegotiations for other NOCs in Libya (AE 142/1). Issue 144, 1 August 2008. more
Bouri field tenders
Eni is inviting companies to prequalify for an engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning contract for the offshore Bouri field. Issue 144, 1 August 2008. more
Egypt/Libya: Bilateral projects roster
A gas pipeline from Libya to Egypt and an oil refinery to be supplied with Libyan feedstock were amongst the projects reviewed by Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi during a visit to Cairo on 7 July. Issue 143, 18 July 2008.more
With new Libya deal Russians line up at the gates of southern Europe
Few issues have the potency to stir up western chanceries and international oil company boardrooms as much as Gazprom’s flexing of its muscles in countries whose supply of energy is deemed so critical to the European Union. Issue 143, 18 July 2008.more
Ghanem steers NOC through period of diplomatic turbulence in Libya
NOC head Shukri Ghanem’s authority has been enhanced by his adroit steering of the Libyan parastatal through some very choppy waters following Muammar Qadhafi’s decision to radically overhaul government in his Jamahiriya. IOCs are still signing contracts while other foreign partners wait for Libya’s internal politics to work themselves out, writes John Hamilton, recently in Tripoli and Tunis. Issue 142, 4 July 2008. more
NOC’s international policy
Its power is substantial, but Libya’s National Oil Corporation currently has no plans to extend its remit overseas according to the model established by Russia’s Gazprom and is now being enthusiastically followed by Algeria’s Sonatrach and in a smaller way by Tunisia’s Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières (Etap). Issue 142, 4 July 2008. more
Petro-Canada in $7bn investment
Petro-Canada has signed six new exploration and production sharing agreements (EPSAs) with National Oil Corporation (NOC). Issue 142, 4 July 2008. more
Eni converts six EPSA contracts as renegotiations continue
National Oil Corporation has renewed Eni’s six exploration and production-sharing contracts for 25 years from January 2008. The new expiry dates set by the agreement are 2042 for production of oil and 2047 for gas. Issue 141, 20 June 2008.more
Winfield wins approvals for refinery project
Vancouver-based Winfield Resources has received approval from the Libyan Foreign Investment Board for its application to build, own and operate a new 300,000 b/d oil refinery at Ras Lanuf (AE 134/15). Issue 141, 20 June 2008.more
Sonatrach, Indians sign for 95/96
Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration & Production (Sipex), Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation have signed a production-sharing agreement with National Oil Corporation for Block 95/96 in the Ghadames basin, close to the border with Algeria. Issue 140, 6 June 2008. more
Verenex seeks commerciality for Area 47
Canadian independent Verenex Energy plans to submit a commerciality application to National Oil Corporation (NOC) early in Q3 2008 for its Ghadames Basin territory secured in the first post-sanctions bidding round (AE 133/14). The company anticipates initial production of up to 50,000 b/d gross by early 2010 from a 10-12 well development in the southern part of Area 47 where it has suspended six exploration wells and one appraisal well as potential oil production wells. The wells tested at an aggregate rate of 83,000 b/d. Issue 139, 23 May 2008.more
Fifth discovery for RWE
Germany’s RWE Dea has announced a fifth discovery in the Sirte Basin, where it has three concessions awarded in 2003. Issue 139, 23 May 2008.more
Oilinvest reconsiders Tamoil sale
Oilinvest Group’s new chief executive Isam Zanati has sought to dampen speculation that the state-owned group is looking for a new strategic investor for Tamoil. A number of reports have raised this possibility since the collapse in March of negotiations with Los Angeles-based private equity group Colony Capital, which had provisionally agreed to buy Tamoil for $6.3bn in June 2007 (AE 116/18). Issue 139, 23 May 2008.more
Gazprom extends North African play to Libya with deals and diplomacy
The deals signed during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Libya in April not only shed further light on Russia’s ever more assertive policy towards North Africa – reflected in a growing number of energy sector deals (see Downstream and markets, above) – but may also indicate a potential extension of Libyan policy in the region. Gazprom Management Committee chairman Alexei Miller signed accords with National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio (LAIP). Gazprom’s negotiations with Eni to purchase a share of the Western Libya Gas Project (WLGP) also advanced (AE 136/18). Issue 137, 25 April 2008. more
Gazprom has moved a step closer to taking a share of strategic upstream assets in Libya from Italy’s Eni, potentially adding another facet to Moscow’s energy influence in North Africa. The Russian giant is also believed to be talking about possible deals with Algeria’s Sonatrach and has offered to invest in Nigeria (AE 135/1). Issue 136, 11 April 2008.more
North African refinery projects test gap between ambition and capacity
Every country along the North African littoral from Morocco to Egypt has got at least one refinery project in planning or on the go. The question is: can they all succeed when so many schemes are aiming for the same export market and in many cases hoping to use the same sources of feedstock? Issue 135, 28 March 2008.more
NOC finalises new EPSA deals
National Oil Corporation has confirmed some $500m worth of exploration investment from five international oil companies. NOC approved work programmes from four bidders that won territories in December’s EPSA round (AE 128/3). It also approved ExxonMobil’s EPSA for Area 21, the fruit of bilateral negotiations that concluded in November. Issue 134, 7 March 2008.more
Klesch deal, other investors’ interest shows Libya opening up to refinery projects
A flurry of deals, some confirmed some still speculative, suggests that a lengthy hiatus in the development of Libya’s downstream sector may have broken, writes John Hamilton. Issue 134, 7 March 2008.more
Verenex production by end-2009
Verenex Energy remains on a roll: it is the only EPSA-4 operator to find oil in every well it has drilled – indeed, for all the hype of Libya’s E&P opening, no other IOC has yet announced a major commercial discovery – and the Canadian exploration company has not only made another find, it has announced that it will start production by end-2009 in the southern part of its Ghadames Basin Area 47 block. Initial gross production is put at up to 50,000 b/d. Issue 133, 22 February 2008.more
Yara agrees petrochemical JV
Norway’s Yara International and National Oil Corporation (NOC) have finalised the petrochemical investment deal agreed last April, with the 17 February signing of a joint venture framework agreement, which also includes the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). Issue 133, 22 February 2008.more
Indonesians agree long-term crude supply
PT Pertamina has agreed a 20-year crude supply contract with National Oil Corporation (NOC) to take up to 200,000 b/d to supply a 300,000 b/d refinery now under construction in Banten, according to Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Issue 133, 22 February 2008.more
NOC mulls alternative strategy as reshuffle looms
As government offices and state institutions hunker down in anticipation of a potentially bruising cabinet reshuffle, IOCs and Libya’s own NOC are sizing up an uncertain future, John Hamilton reports from Tripoli. Issue 132, 8 February 2008.more
How BP’s Libya deal got back on track
The ratification of BP’s $900m gas exploration contract with National Oil Corporation (NOC) returns British relations with Libya to an even keel. As African Energy exclusively reported in November, Libyan Leader Muammar Qadhafi halted the deal to pressure the UK into allowing Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohammed Al-Megrahi to be repatriated (AE 126/1). Issue 132, 8 February 2008.more
Pointers: Rig and vessel contracts; EPSA-4 block signed by RWE Dea
Tamoil Africa Holdings, the part of the Oilinvest Tamoil group not sold to private equity but now ultimately controlled by Libyan Investment Authority, has continued its buying spree on the continent, by negotiating the purchase of ExxonMobil’s downstream marketing interests in Morocco and Tunisia. Under acquisitive chairman Ali Shamekh, it has already bought up ExxonMobil downstream assets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Shamekh’s latest deal gives Tamoil Africa an estimated 20% of the Tunisian market, including 380 petrol stations and two asphalt plants. In Morocco it takes 10% of the market. Issue 132, 8 February 2008.Full story
Libya/Tunisia: NOC reorganises Tunisian joint ventures
Libyan-Tunisian Gas Company and Libyan-Tunisian Oil Company held extraordinary general meetings on 13 January chaired by National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Shukri Ghanem. Issue 131, 25 January 2008.more
Another Ras Lanuf refinery
Following on from the state Council for Oil and Gas Affairs’ decision to back a plan by the United Arab Emirates-based Star Consortium to upgrade and revamp Libya’s largest oil refinery, another project has emerged at Ras Lanuf, promoted by Canada’s Winfield Resources Ltd. Issue 131, 25 January 2008.more
Gecol’s procurement boom to light up anniversary
Libya plans a huge power development programme to mark the 40th anniversary of Muammar Qadhafi’s takeover in 2009 and to triple generation capacity by 2016, writes John Hamilton, recently in Tripoli. Issue 130, 14 January 2008.more
Dubai group invests in Ras Lanuf refinery
A UAE-based consortium has agreed to invest $2bn over five years in a programme to upgrade and revamp Libya’s largest oil refinery. The Star Consortium formed by TransAsia Gas International and Star Petro Energy signed a joint venture agreement with National Oil Corporation (NOC) on 7 January. Issue 130, 14 January 2008.more
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