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Italian major Eni has announced a new find on Block CI-205, which it called the second-largest hydrocarbons discovery to date in Côte d’Ivoire, following its Baleine discovery in 2021.

Mining companies are planning to cut thousands of jobs in response to negative domestic and international factors, which could cause wider economic problems and difficulties for the government in the run-up to the late May general election. Critical minerals offer huge potential, but structural constraints weigh heavy on investors.

Hive Hydrogen has signed an agreement with Cape Town-based Genesis Eco-Energy Developments to secure 372MW of wind electricity for its multi-billion dollar Coega green ammonia plant in Nelson Mandela Bay.  

CFM’s appointment to manage the Southern African Power Pool ’s $1.3bn Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility could free up a decades-long blockage in the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure. How quickly this happens depends on the success of fundraising efforts in the coming months, and the willingness of utilities and finance ministries to make the RTIFF scheme work.

Former utility Ente Nazionale Energia Elettrica (Enee) collapsed in 1991 at the start of a devastating civil war and Somalia has not had a national grid since. However, entrepreneurs have maintained a good level of service in the cities, particularly Mogadishu, where three vertically-integrated independent power producers (IPPs) compete for retail business.

Vaalco Energy’s purchase of Svenska Petroleum Exploration will give the US indie a 27.4% interest in Block CI-40, which holds the producing Baobab field offshore Côte d’Ivoire, in a deal that further reduces beleaguered Saudi-Ethiopian tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi’s business empire.

Commissioning of Geometric’s 141MW Aba gas-to-power plant adds sorely-needed on-grid capacity.  Selling to its own ringfenced distribution network, Aba also points to a potential new model of vertical integration. Meanwhile, the Tinubu government’s bold macro reforms have contributed to a significant economic crisis. It is nonetheless pushing on with efforts to repay $2.16bn owed to IPPs, although some question where the money will come from, write Leonard Lawal in Lagos and Marc Howard.

The issue leads with Nigeria, where commissioning of the Aba gas-to-power plant adds sorely-needed on-grid capacity. The Tinubu government is pushing on with efforts to repay debts owed to IPPs, although some question where the money will come from. African Energy looks at Nigeria's economic woes with the consequences of President Tinubu’s reforms causing immense difficulties for a majority of Nigeria's estimated 226m population, as the price of staples soars. The issue also focuses on green hydrogen with a lead article on Egypt, where, if schemes can be proved bankable, tens of billions of dollars of investment could transform the country's economic prospects.   Power sector coverage leads with Namibia, where industry sources have told African Energy the authorities have drastically downsized the amount of power allowed for export, making export-oriented IPP plants economically unviable. Upstream coverage leads with Morocco, where Energean is eying accelerated development for its offshore Lixus gas play. Transition minerals coverage focuses on Guinea where the country's two main bauxite producers are both advancing plans to build 1m t/yr alumina refineries in Boké, which could add gigawatts to electricity demand and may require significant LNG imports. African Energy also examines Guinean politics, where embattled interim President Colonel Mamady Doumbouya leader has dismissed the government amid opposition manoeuvres. A new Risk Management Report focuses on Kenya. President Ruto's government has secured $1.65bn from a dollar eurobond, allowing Nairobi to avert the threat of default on its big repayment due in June but the economy remains fragile, while the electricity supply industry is in need of a significantly improved performance. The African Energy View examines the prospects for Namibian politics following the death of President Hage Geingob.

An arm of public utility Rwanda Energy Group is seeking contractors to build a substation at Bugesera Industrial Park.

Hopes that a buyer would emerge to take over Morocco’s mothballed Samir refinery have not been fulfilled, while arbitration proceedings enter a sixth year over Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi’s controversial asset in Mohammedia.

An AfDB grant-funded project will rehabilitate and expand electricity provision in Bossaso city as Somalia looks to boost electricity provision.

Revised in March 2024, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Nigeria. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, gas and liquid fuels, natural gas, coal, hybrid, hydroelectricity, nuclear, solar PV, wind and biomass/biogas. An inset provides greater detail for the region covering Onitsha, Port Harcourt and Calabar, while four smaller insets provide a closer look at Abuja, Kano, Lagos, and the gas projects around and to the east of Port Harcourt. A small table lists the largest operating independent power producers (IPPs) Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 4-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-999MW and 1,000MW and above. Operating IPPs of 10MW and above are also indicated. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 132kV to 330kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Benin, Niger and Cameroon. Power generation data was drawn from our African Energy Live Data platform, which contains project level detail on power plants and projects across Africa. The map is presented as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.  

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has signed a joint development agreement for a solar PV plant with Toronto-headquartered SkyPower Global in what could be a ground-breaking project for state utility Société Nationale d’Electricité (Snel) – whose record on project delivery has generally been poor.

The economic logic of the subsidy cuts, devaluation and other reforms enacted after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over on Aso Rock in mid-2023 was clear: the fuel subsidy alone was costing some $10bn/yr, risking state insolvency. But the consequences of Tinubu’s reforms have caused immense difficulties for a majority of Nigeria's estimated 226m population, as the price of staples soars.

Kenya has put in place a green hydrogen framework giving impetus to a growing number of private sector projects that could drive capital-intensive post-carbon industries. African Energy rounds up the renewable energy-driven projects that are making the running in Kenya’s early-stage GH2 economy.