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Comoros President Azali Assoumani has secured yet another term in office through a disputed election, undermining prospects for progress and stability in the small island state where nearly half the population live in poverty and where a shortage of electricity is holding back development, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

The World Bank Group’s soft lending International Development Association (IDA) has called for expressions of interest (EoI) from consulting engineering firms to advise on the procurement of solar PV and storage as part of its Comoros solar energy access project (Paesc).

The island states off the coast of East Africa are pushing ahead forcefully with renewable energy schemes to reduce their hydrocarbons use. The moves will save money for the authorities in Comoros, Mauritius and the Seychelles by cutting expensive imports of refined products and will also help to address the effects of climate change to which they are particularly vulnerable, writes Marc Howard.

Island nations Seychelles, Mauritius and Comoros are assessing initiatives to encourage more private investment in renewable energy, according to a World Bank Group (WBG) report published on 20 September.

The World Bank Group has released information on the Comoros Solar Energy Access Project (CSEAP), whose four components include 9MW of solar PV and 19MWh of battery storage. It replaces an earlier project cancelled last year by the WBG.

In a 5 October update, the World Bank Group (WBG) said the Comoros Solar Energy Integration Platform project had been cancelled and all financing agreements terminated. The project was approved by the WBG board in June 2020 and a financing agreement was signed by the WBG’s International Development Association (IDA) and the Comoros government in August 2020.

The Republic of Maldives is raising a debut sovereign sukuk (Islamic bond), marking its entry into the Sharia-compliant market. The $200m five-year senior unsecured rule 144A/Reg S sukuk – rated B3 by Moody’s Investors Service – carries a 9.875% semi-annual coupon.

The government of the Comoro Islands invites bids by 10 May for the rehabilitation of the Lingoni and Marahani hydropower plants on the island of Anjouan and the Miringoni micro hydropower station on the island of Mohéli.

MAN Diesel & Turbo India has concluded a contract to deliver five engines, four 18V28/32S and one 7L27/38S, for a new power plant in Moroni. The scope of supply includes auxiliary equipment, spares, tools and services for the supervision of installation and commissioning. The plant will be constructed by India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. The 18MW plant, powered by heavy fuel oil, will be operated by the Comoros Energy Department, providing baseload power to the public grid. It will replace three outdated power stations to increase the overall efficiency and capacity of power generation.

Well manager AGR and SP Offshore Energy Services Ltd have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which AGR will provide a range of exploration services and the drilling of an ultra deep-water well off the Comoros Islands. SP Offshore, through its subsidiary SPO E&P (Comoros), works for US company Western Energy and Jersey-registered Safari Petroleum in the Comoros, where the two companies were awarded a production-sharing contract for blocks 38, 39 and 40 in March 2014. The partners now plan a programme of exploration studies including seismic interpretation, basin modelling and resource assessments, followed by the drilling of an exploration well.

The African Development Bank has agreed to provide grants of $8.3m from the African Development Fund and $12.1m from the Fragile States Facility to finance the Comoros Energy Sector Support Project. The project, co-financed with $5m from the World Bank, will be implemented in the three main islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli. It will rehabilitate production facilities, help improve financial governance through capacity building, and support the preparation of studies on renewable energy potential. Development finance institutions have become more active in the country since Ikililou Dhoinine became president in May 2011 after an election that was considered by the World Bank to be “broadly fair and transparent”.

The Cove Energy team’s new venture in the Comoros Islands has won backing from Amsterdam-based Oranje-Nassau Energie. Discover Exploration has a production-sharing contract (PSC) covering 18,0000km2 over the outboard part of the Rovuma Delta, geologically on trend with Cove’s former Mozambique acreage. Discover’s management team is led by Cove veterans Michael Blaha, John Craven and Michael Nolan, while Oranje-Nassau Energie chairman Marcel van Poecke, chief executive Alexander Berger and board adviser Paddy Spink are on the Discover board as non-executive directors.

The AfDB’s geothermal programme, initiated in the mid-2000s, is coming to fruition with the interest shown by private sector developers in the 400MW Menengai geothermal complex in Kenya, and the bank now intends to apply its new approach across the region, writes Dan Marks

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board on 19 December agreed a $3m loan to Comoros to support energy sector reforms, particularly for electricity and financial governance. The reforms aim to strengthen the governance and performance of the energy sector so that it can support the country’s economic development, and to encourage the state to consolidate and deepen the reform of public finance management.

A company owned by mining magnate Jean-Raymond Boulle has filed for arbitration against the government of Comoros at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris claiming it has exclusive oil and gas exploration and production rights throughout the archipelago’s territorial waters.