In addition to producing the flagship fortnightly African Energy, AE’s team of experienced analysts also produce briefings and reports on a range of topics and issues that affect the region. Our expertise can be tapped by anyone and delivered in a range of formats. For more information contact Nick Carn. nick@africa-energy.com
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 next AfricaHardball roundtable will be held on 30 June, prior to the start of EnergyNet Ltd’s annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF), this year to be held in Bordeaux. Read more
This special 32 page issue of African Energy, features an updated selection of 21 of the best maps the publication has produced – and several new ones – along with a review of the continent’s energy scene in 2008 and a look ahead at 2009.
The maps collected together on the PDF are of high-resolution quality, allowing the reader to close in on the detail of oil fields, transmission lines, dams and other data, and providing the reader with an unrivalled digest of the projects and trends shaping the continent’s energy future. Internet subscribers maydownload the full PDF of this special issue
Non subscribers may purchase a special package consisting of a high quality colour printed copy and emailed PDF file for £72 (20% discount). The issue may be ordered online or by emailing Nick Carn. Email:nick@cbi-publishing.com
EU’s new ACP energy facility aims to increase access
Brussels is looking for project proposals to be funded from a new renewables-focused European Union facility to stimulate electrification projects and help fight climate change, writesFrançois Misser. more
Power sector finance update – multilaterals dominate with banks under pressure
Privately financed projects remain few and far between, according to African Energy’s listing of power financings recorded since January 2008. With many projects put on hold by the credit crunch, multilaterals and bilateral DFIs are playing at least as important a role in 2009 as they were a decade ago – indeed, more so perhaps, writeKevin GodierandJon Marks. more
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s push for a better deal raises IOC concerns over upstream terms
All sides are talking about building confidence, but with IOCs fearful that the landmark Petroleum Industry Bill will slash their profits, and Nigerian politicians keen to influence policy across the sector, the timetable for vital energy industry reforms is slipping ever further behind. Lack of trust over the upstream industry’s future shape is delaying investment and holding up reforms vital for gas and power sector developments, write Leonard Lawal in Lagos, Our Gulf of Guinea Correspondent in Abuja, andJon Marks. more
Lukman’s NNPC unbundling gathers steam
No one doubts Dr Rilwanu Lukman’s pedigree in the Nigerian oil industry, but his return as oil minister last year, formalising his central role in shaping the Yar’Adua administration’s policy, was still a gamble – at least as far as preserving the veteran engineer’s reputation. more
Denying liability, Shell settles Ogoni case before its day in court
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $15.5m to the Ogoni people to settle a long-running court case brought in the United States under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The settlement came days before the start of a trial in New York that was expected to reveal details of Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta. The plaintiffs had included relatives of the late writer and Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was hanged with eight others in 1995 by former president Sani Abacha’s regime. more
GABON
Françafrique dies with Bongo as Gabon faces unaccustomed uncertainty
Unusually for a country where politics has been so meticulously planned for so long, Gabon did not appear to have a plan for President Omar Bongo Ondimba’s succession. Like the elderly relative who refuses to make a will, everyone knew Africa’s longest-serving leader would not last for ever, but no one had addressed the issue of what should happen after his death. Bongo died in hospital in Spain on 8 June, aged 73. “He’d managed everything for 41 years,” said one observer who knows Gabon well. “I’m not sure they’re ready to face it.” more
KENYA
Kenya’s stimulus package looks to boost renewables in big new energy spend
The 2009-10 budget earmarks record spending of $1.8bn for infrastructure to try to stimulate the country’s ailing economy and tackle long-standing problems such as energy shortages, writesKimemia Mugoin Nairobi. more
African Development Bank bails out Botswana as crisis bites
In a dramatic sign of the effect of the global downturn, middle-income Botswana has been forced to turn to the African Development Bank for a big chunk of budget support. more
TOGO
World Bank infrastructure grant
The World Bank board has approved an Emergency Infrastructure and Electricity Rehabilitation Project (PURISE) for the Republic of Togo. more
PUNTLAND
Puntland receives $1.5m grant from World Bank
A World Bank delegation visited the unrecognised Somali breakaway Republic of Puntland in mid-May to sign a $1.5m grant with President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole. more
SEYCHELLES
Seychelles seeks more sea to offer IOCs
The Seychelles government has made a joint submission with Mauritius to the United Nations to extend their territorial waters beyond the 200-mile limit and claim for a 387,000km2 area of sea. more
SUDAN
Troubled outlook for Sudan
The joint venture exploring Sudan’s Block 5B is pulling out, and PetroSA has relinquished Block 14, while with the departure of Marathon Oil Corporation, France’s Total is still waiting to assemble a new operator group for Block B. Mubadala Development Company, the investment and development company wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, had shown interest in acquiring Marathon’s 22.5% stake, but negotiations appear to have petered out. more
EGYPT
Egyptian refining project eyes late 2009 close
Financing worth more than $2bn for the estimated $3.5bn Egyptian Refining Company project is set to close by year-end, clocking up a debt milestone for an Egyptian hydrocarbons project, writes Kevin Godier. more
ALGERIA
Commitment to the market economy leaves questions unanswered
With President Abdelaziz Bouteflika safely re-elected, international oil companies have been hoping to see a shift back towards the more flexible, investor-friendly policies that Algeria pursued prior to its decision to revise the 2005 Hydrocarbons Law. Not only were terms revised during Bouteflika’s second term, to restore the state’s traditionally leading role in exploration, production and transport; a shift towards ‘resource nationalism’ and more populist policies – charted in detail by African Energy – has seen the overall investment environment souring for many foreigners. This disillusion was reflected in the generally poor turnout for the much-anticipated seventh licensing round, and in a welter of nationalist statements about the (apparently limited) value of foreign investment made by officials from Bouteflika down. more
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