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Issue 142 • 4 July, 2008

ALGERIA

Portugal extends co-operation

Algeria and Portugal have resolved a long-running dispute over a ten-year-old promise to allow Sonatrach to take a 7% stake in oil company GALP Energia, as the two countries deepen their energy co-operation. “We have resolved a dispute regarding the commitment made more than ten years ago by Portugal to give us a 7% shareholding in GALP,” said Mines and Energy Minister Chakib Khelil. “Happily, the current Portuguese government has honoured this commitment because Sonatrach now holds a stake in EDP (Energias de Portugal).” While EDP needs gas, Sonatrach needs EDP to develop gas and electricity markets.
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ANGOLA

Saipem wins LNG contract

Bechtel Overseas Corporation has awarded a contract to the PLNG consortium led by Saipem’s Petromar subsidiary for the construction of containment systems for the planned 5.2m t/yr Angola LNG plant at Soyo .
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GHANA

Ethanol project

Brazil’s BNDES development bank is financing a project to grow sugar cane in northern Ghana to produce ethanol for export to Sweden.
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KENYA

LPG plant tender

Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd is inviting bids for an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import, handling, storage and bottling facility in Mombasa.
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Issue 141 • 20 June, 2008

COUNTRIES AND MARKETS

GHANA: Former GNPC head jailed

The former chief executive of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tsatsu Tsikata, has been jailed for five years for wilfully causing financial loss to the state. The case had dragged on for six years at an Accra Fast Track court, but sentence was finally passed on 18 June. GNPC was established without a capital base, and relies solely on generated revenue.

MOROCCO: Abu Dhabi plans refinery

The board of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned energy investment firm International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) has approved a plan for a new refinery at Jorf Lasfar.

NIGERIA: Distribution deal

Houston-based Planet Resource Recovery has reached a distributor agreement with Kobal Global to market its PetroLuxus oil cleanup and recovery products in Nigeria.

SUDAN: Petronas puts refinery on hold

Malaysia’s Petronas says it has deferred plans for a 100,000 b/d oil refinery at Port Sudan due to rising costs. The project’s cost has risen to $5bn, from original estimates of $1bn-2bn.
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COMPANIES AND PEOPLE

FLEX LNG: Nigerian project

Flex LNG Ltd has signed a heads of agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation and Peak Petroleum Industries Nigeria to develop and market the world’s first floating liquefaction project. The parties expect the project to produce 1.5m t/yr of liquefied natural gas for 15 years, with the first commercial LNG cargo planned for H2 2011.

SASOL: Chinese CTL plans

South Africa’s Sasol, the world’s biggest producer of motor fuel from coal, and China’s biggest coal company Shenhua Group will jointly produce motor fuel from coal in China in 2016.

TOTAL/CNOOC: ‘New energies’ co-operation

Total has signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) covering co-operation in upstream and downstream activities and in the field of new energies.
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