Algeria's Energy Future was launched at a half-day round-table seminar at Chatham House, London, on Wednesday 6 April.
The report was presented at the seminar by its lead authors, Jon Marks and John Hamilton, and critically assessed by Algerian and international experts. Read more
The African Energy Atlas has established itself as an indispensable resource for energy industry professionals.
The 2011 edition features more than 45 maps and charts drawn with expert care by journalist cartographer David Burles. Read more
Briefings and Reports 2
AfricaHardball is an executive dialogue that brings together policy-makers, industry leaders and analysts to discuss the key political issues affecting African markets in frank and open terms.
The next AfricaHardball roundtable will be held on 1 December in London, focusing on North Africa Read more
Briefings and Reports 3
A detailed and frank analysis of Libya’s energy sector
Published in July 2010, Libya's Energy Future provides authoritative, independently sourced analysis of Libya’s energy sector policy and history, examines the country’s governance and financial record and assesses the potential for international partners to do business with its institutions and interest groups.
Nigerian upstream jitters following Chukwueke’s sacking and licence award investigations
Tony Chukwueke’s dismissal as head of the Department for Petroleum Resources once again raises questions over how much has really changed in Nigeria’s oil allocations process, writes Our Gulf of Guinea Correspondent. Issue 105, December 2006.more
Nigeria’s electricity reform powers ahead
Doubts about the 2007 presidential elections are clouding most aspects of Nigerian economic life, but with more development under way and planned than for decades, decision-makers in the power sector remain decidedly bullish even if privatisation is not moving as quickly as earlier forecast. Issue 105, December 2006.more
Delta blows leave Shell reeling, threaten Nigeria’s key gas projects
Shell is on the ropes in Nigeria after months of sustained punishment from insurgent Ijaw groups. The full impact on Shell’s bottom line of the Forcados crude stream’s prolonged shutdown has yet to become fully apparent, but the disruption places major gas projects at risk. Issue 104, November 2006.more
Powering GSM base stations
Three mobile telecoms organisations have set up a project to demonstrate biofuels’ potential to replace diesel as a source of power for base stations located beyond the reach of the electricity grid. Issue 104, November 2006.more
Afren, Amni start drilling on Okoro field
Amni International Petroleum Development Company and Rilwanu Lukman’s Afren have begun drilling the Okoro-3 appraisal well on OML 112. Issue 104, November 2006.more
Pointer – Foster Wheeler to work on Tubu, Madu fields
Grinaker LTA’s Mechanical and Engineering (M&E) division is reporting considerable success in completing its Port Harcourt fabrication yard construction project, but faces problems attracting local and foreign investors to base themselves there. Issue 104, November 2006.more
New round for dormant fields
The Department of Petroleum Resources is putting the finishing touches to plans for a new licensing round due to launch in October. DPR assistant director Bamidele Ogedengbe told reporters details of which blocks would be included were yet to be finalised, but the round would offer dormant acreage held by the majors. Issue 103, October 2006.more
Nigeria’s election race adds to political pressures, LNG investors hang on
Crisis in the Niger Delta could get even worse as politicians play dangerous games in the run-up to next year’s crucial presidential election, but while many observers expect much Nigerian business to be put on hold, major investments continue to go through, write Our Lagos Correspondent and finance editor Kevin Godier. Issue 102, September 2006.more
Willbros pulls out of Nigeria
While IOCs push ahead with billion dollar projects, one US company as deeply rooted as any in Nigeria, Willbros Group, has put its local operations up for sale, citing “increasingly difficult operating conditions”. Issue 102, September 2006.more
Nigerian LNG schemes to get ECA and commercial finance
Export credit agencies are expected to feature strongly in the financing package for the Olokola LNG scheme, sponsored by Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell (each with 18.5%), BG International (13.5%) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (49.5%). Issue 102, September 2006.more
Nigerian power, oil companies link up to seek projects
Petrodel Resources and Nigeria’s Shoreline Power Company have formed a joint venture to bid in forthcoming licensing rounds. The venture plans to offer to build power plants in exchange for being awarded exploration acreage. Issue 102, September 2006.more
Wanka takes over at JDA
Ado Yakubu Wanka, a banking executive who began his career at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has been appointed as chairman of the Abuja-based Nigeria-São Tomé Joint Development Authority (AE 101/5). Issue 102, September 2006.more
Centurion increases JDZ holding
Canada’s Centurion Energy has effectively acquired an additional 2% share in Block 4 of the Nigeria-São Tomé Joint Development Zone by purchasing the remainder of Hercules Petroleum. Issue 102, September 2006.more
Aba plant is CDM first
Local private power developer Geometric Power has reached agreement with the World Bank’s Community Development Carbon Fund (CDCF) for its 120MW power plant at Aba in Abia State. Issue 101, August 2006.more
Mobil starts up EAOR project
ExxonMobil’s Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) unit has started up the East Area Additional Oil Recovery project located 28km offshore. Issue 101, August 2006.more
Port Harcourt refinery sell-off shelved
After a protracted and often fractious bidding process, the federal government has withdrawn Port Harcourt Refinery Company from its privatisation programme, officials said because of the facility’s improved performance. PHRC will instead be managed by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which has been asked to increase production to 100% of capacity, from 80-85% now. Issue 101, August 2006.more
Nigerian LNG industry set fair with boost for Brass, Olokola schemes
Both the Brass and Olokola LNG projects have taken a significant step forward, with Total taking over Chevron’s stake in Brass, and a FEED contract award for Olokola’s gas supply scheme. NNPC forecasts 2m boe/d of LNG exports by 2012. Issue 101, August 2006.more
PHCN wound up as privatisation moves on
Nigeria has taken another step in the privatisation of the former National Electric Power Authority (Nepa), with the incorporation of the companies that will succeed Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). Issue 100, July 2006.more
Nigeria remains the great enigma of the African energy industry. While so much attention focuses – rightly – on the crisis in the Niger Delta, supermajors and other IOCs are hurrying to develop major offshore oil and gas projects. The extent of activity is shown in this latest West Coast oil update. Issue 100, July 2006.more
Nigeria’s mini-round produces another scramble for resources to mark Obasanjo’s fin de règne
The government is glowing with pleasure at the headline success of its 2006 mini-round, but analysis of the bids leaves some unsettling questions unanswered, writes Our Lagos Correspondent. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Nigerian gas potential draws in GTL players
Nigeria could work as a gas-to-liquids play because it has a lot of reserves and ambitions to develop new export industries even if the cost is very high. This is the rationale behind projects such as the planned Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (Nigal), for which feasibility studies are now complete. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Despite region’s troubles, WAPP forges ahead
Cheaper, more plentiful power for the countries of West Africa is set to become a reality as interconnection projects forge ahead, fuelled by Nigerian gas from the West African gas pipeline, writes Thalia Griffiths. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Nigeria power update: Momentum builds behind generation projects
Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) managing director Joseph Makoju opened a recent address to an industry audience in Abuja by stating: “You probably really want to hear why power supply has been so bad this year.” This was true – industry and consumers have been groaning under the burden of brownouts and other perennial Nigerian problems, which Makoju and his team labour to resolve. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Afren to develop Okoro and Setu
Afren has signed a financing and production-sharing and technical services agreement with Amni International Petroleum Development Company for the development of the Okoro and Setu oil and gas fields in OML 112. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) group managing director Funsho Kupolokun has said Nigeria could start supplying 600m ft3/d of gas to Equatorial Guinea by 2009. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Mend threat to NLNG in divided Delta
Militants in the Niger Delta have threatened to attack the $13bn Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas plant on Bonny Island. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said in an email to Reuters they were conscious of the potential for an attack on the NLNG plant to hurt nearby communities, and would launch a warning raid on an oil facility beforehand. Issue 99, June 2006.more
NEXI maintains watching brief, keeps tight MLT cover lid
Nigeria has paid off its Paris club debt, but some creditors remain wary (AE 98/28). Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi) remains cautious over insuring deals but is watching for signs of improvement in Nigeria’s payment performance and political environment. Issue 99, June 2006.more
Abuja looks beyond political risks to celebrate E&P upturn
Nigeria’s hydrocarbons industry is going through a boom unprecedented in several decades, despite doubts about the nation’s politics and security that have forced global oil prices ever upwards. Nigeria remains a mass of contradictions, with huge potential for those who make it work but just as many pitfalls for the unwary, writes Jon Marks, recently in Abuja. Issue 98, May 2006. more
Take your partners for the Port Harcourt refinery ball
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Edmund Daukoru wants to see a new Nigerian downstream industry based on 150,000 b/d refineries, and in a fast-changing global market this prospect becomes ever closer to reality – which helps to explain why bidding for Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd (PHRC) has been a stop-start affair, much to the frustration of interested bidders. Issue 98, May 2006. more
Work starts on Gbaran-Ubie plant
Nigeria made fresh progress in its National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), with a ground-breaking ceremony for the 225MW Gbaran-Ubie power station on 6 April. Issue 98, May 2006. more
First JDZ well
After the apparent euphoria of reports of a major find in the Joint Development Zone – talked up by officials in Abuja in early April – the much-anticipated Obo-1 well on the JDZ’s Block 1 has been completed as a tight hole. Issue 98, May 2006. more
Total takes on Brass LNG, Chevron eyes Olokola
Total Nigeria is to take over the 17% stake in the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas project relinquished by Chevron in a move approved of by the Nigerian authorities, who understand that the US major plans to move into another major gas play, the Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas scheme. Issue 98, May 2006. more
Opportunities open as Paris Club debt is resolved, but some markets remain wary about Nigeria risk
Booming oil prices and the actions of a reformist government have allowed Nigeria to clear its debt, prompting a very positive response from former creditors – but not all trade and project finance markets have fully re-opened for business in what remains a challenging business environment, writes Kevin Godier. Issue 98, May 2006. more
President commissions Calabar plant, launches new programme
President Olusegun Obasanjo has launched the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) with a ground-breaking ceremony for the 560MW Calabar gas-fired power station on 11 March. Issue 97, April 2006.more
Something about the JDZ
After months of negotiation, production-sharing contracts have finally been signed for Blocks 2, 3 and 4 in the Nigeria-São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone. Issue 97, April 2006.more
Pointers – Saipem wins Shell EPC contract for Gbaran line; Total seeks new Brass LNG partners
It is not just the Niger Delta that has been causing concern for political risk analysts: a campaign by Olusegun Obasanjo’s supporters – clearly backed by the man himself – for the 1999 constitution to be altered so the president can have a third term of office has raised the political temperature across the country. Issue 97, April 2006.more
Niger Delta crisis hikes oil prices again, as MEND adds mystery to Nigerian power play
A new Niger Delta ‘liberation movement’ is posing a major threat to IOCs who have invested billions in this major oil and gas producer. Daniel Balint-Kurti reports from the Delta on MEND, with additional reporting by Jon Marks. Issue 96, March 2006.more
Key procurement processes under way, says World Bank
Two parallel procurement processes linked to Nigeria’s power sector revamp are under way, the World Bank has told African Energy. Issue 96, March 2006.more
Equator raises $250m in placing
Canadian Wade Cherwayko’s latest venture, Equator Exploration, has raised $250m from a share placing to fund its exploration programme offshore Nigeria. Issue 96, March 2006.more
Pioneer quits ERHC consortium, Addax comes in
Pioneer Natural Resources Company has become the latest oil company to pull out of the Nigeria/São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone, even as reports emerge of promising results from operator Chevron’s well on Block 1 (AE 95/24). Issue 96, March 2006.more
Liability to valued asset: Nigeria’s power sector transformation
The once notorious restructured state utility and new government-funded projects will go on sale from this year as Nigeria’s power sector privatisation finally gets under way, writes Thalia Griffiths. Issue 95, February 2006.more
It’s definitive: CNOOC concludes its Niger Delta mega-deal – or so it thinks
CNOOC made headlines with its multi-billion dollar acquisition of a stake in a 1bn bbls-plus Nigerian field, but critics say it’s still not entirely clear what it actually bought. African Energy correspondents in Lagos and London track this convoluted affair – which may not yet be over despite the Chinese partner declaring the deal “definitive”. Issue 95, February 2006.more
BG farms into Sahara’s block offshore Nigeria, puts Brass LNG supply deal in place
The British-based group has intensified its Nigerian presence, moving into the upstream via a farm-in and signing up to purchase LNG from the planned Brass project to feed its US and European marketing businesses. Issue 95, February 2006.more
Nigerian government, majors to build two refineries
The federal government seems to have succeeded in muscling the oil majors into investing downstream, with the announcement of plans to build two greenfield refineries in collaboration with five international oil companies to process a total of 1m b/d of crude in Nigeria. Issue 95, February 2006.more
Local content to increase to 50%, government directive says
The federal government has ordered that 50% of fabrication and construction work should be based in Nigeria, which if implemented will drastically increase the amount of local content in contracts issued by joint venture companies. Issue 95, February 2006.more
Bid round chaos
Only some of the companies awarded blocks in the 2005 licensing round have paid their signature bonuses and the government may be forced to retender some of the blocks. Issue 95, February 2006.more
Addax seeks farm-in on Okwok
Addax Petroleum is pursuing a farm-in on the Okwok property, located within ExxonMobil’s offshore Nigerian OML 67 property. Issue 95, February 2006.more
Niigerian crude prices ease as US stocks rise, market stabilises
Bonga crude has come on stream at a time when prices for Nigerian crudes are falling as product stocks rise in the US, but winter demand is far from over and Bonga is sure to find its place in a market which is settling after the violent price hikes of 2005. Issue 94, January 2006.more
More contract awards
The pace of contract awards for turbines and other equipment is quickening, with the General Electric group announcing more orders and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company announcing a $480m order from the Royal Dutch Shell group to build a power plant in Afam. Issue 94, January 2006.more
Afren share placing raises development funds
UK-listed Afren has raised £11m ($19m) from a placing of 24.4m new shares to fund a jack-up rig for drilling in Q2 2006. The rig will drill two appraisal wells on the Ogedeh and Akepo discoveries on OML 90. Issue 94, January 2006.more
Joint Nigerian/US committee on Delta security
With energy security once again in the headlines, Nigeria and the United States have announced a joint initiative to co-ordinate action against insecurity in the Niger Delta, where a new NGO’s book highlights the extent of the problems still to be resolved, writes Thalia Griffiths. Issue 94, January 2006.more
Port Harcourt refinery sale
The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has asked for new bids from four groups interested in buying the federal government’s 51% stake in Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC). Issue 94, January 2006.more
Indian cabinet blocks ONGC’s Nigerian deal
A plan by India’s state Oil and Natural Gas Company to take a 45% stake in the Akpo gas and condensate field has been blocked by the Indian cabinet. Issue 94, January 2006.more
Subscriber Area
require a subscription.