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The award by Groupement Reggane of a $970m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Petrofac to build the gas-gathering, treatment and export facilities package at the Reggane North development means that a trio of projects are now fully under way in the south-west region, which is the country’s largest new zone for future gas production. Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas is building gas production facilities at Touat for GDF Suez which are scheduled to enter production in late 2016. Both Reggane and Total’s Timmimoun development, which is being built by Korea’s Samsung Engineering, will be completed in mid-2017.

The 8.8MW Mainland independent power project was commissioned on 30 October by Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola. Developed through a public/private partnership between the state government and a consortium of Mainland Power, CET Power and Solad Electric, the plant operates using 5.8MW powered by natural gas and 3MW standby using diesel. It will supply a number of institutional buildings including Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and Area F Police Command, as well as 20km of street lighting. There will be the possibility of transferring ownership to the state government after ten years of operation; there is also an option to expand generation to 25MW.

Africa Oil Corporation will go it alone with the acquisition of Petrobras’ Nigerian assets after Delonex Energy and Vitol announced they were withdrawing from the transaction. The companies signed an agreement in October 2018 to acquire 50% of the share capital of Petrobras Oil and Gas BV, which owns an indirect 8% interest in Chevron’s Agbami field and an indirect 16% interest in Total’s Akpo and Egina fields.

A consortium of GE International and Greek contractor Metka has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Sonelgaz subsidiary Société Algérienne de Production de l’Electricité (SPE) to build an open-cycle gas-fired power plant in Hassi R’mel. The plant will have an available capacity of around 368MW and is expected to be finished within 30 months. The value of Metka’s portion of the contract is €93m ($120m), denominated in euros and Algerian dinars. The agreement is unrelated to GE’s delayed deal with Sonelgaz to supply 8,400MW of turbines.

Malabo is pushing on with efforts to turn Equatorial Guinea into a regional gas hub by announcing that a “master plan” for Equatorial Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas (EGLNG)’s second train is expected to make significant progress by mid-2010, although doubts remain about whether enough gas is available.

NOC head Shukri Ghanem’s authority has been enhanced by his adroit steering of the Libyan parastatal through some very choppy waters following Muammar Qadhafi’s decision to radically overhaul government in his Jamahiriya.

US developer Symbion Power signed a protocol d’accord on 24 July with Madagascar President Hery Rajaonarimampianina, including a framework deal to develop seven new generation plants with combined capacity of 180MW and a transmission line in partnership with local investor Vision Madagascar (ViMa). The power plants comprise a 116MW heavy fuel oil (HFO)-fuelled plant in Tsimiroro, a 10MW solar unit in Mahajanga and biomass plants producing up to 5MW each at Nosy Boraha, Nosy Be, Antsiranana and Toamasina. In a separate Power Purchase Agreement signed on 29 July with JIRAMA, Symbion will restore and operate the under-performing 40MW capacity HFO unit at Mandroseza from state utility state water and electricity utility Jiro sy Rany Malagasy (Jirama).

The Lesotho Electricity Company Ltd (LEC) is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to carry out an African Development Fund-backed renewable energy grid integration study. The study will assess LEC’s transmission and distribution networks to establish the level of absorption possible for renewable energy in the medium to long term.

The third and final phase of the Hassi R’Mel-Béni Saf (GZ4) gas transport pipeline, running from Mohammedia to Béni Saf, is now operational (AE 172/22). Sonatrach said the last phase of the project had been filled with gas on 15 April.

Lekela Power BV, a joint venture between private equity firm Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power, announced on 5 June that its 140MW Kangnas and 110MW Perdekraal East wind projects in South Africa have reached financial close. The projects were selected in the fourth round of the country’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme in 2015, although the signing of key agreements was delayed until April.

Kibo Mining has announced an agreement to acquire an 85% interest in the Mabesekwa coal to power project in Botswana from Sechaba Natural Resources, a 100% subsidiary of Shumba Energy. In a 30 November press release, AIM- and Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Kibo announced that Sechaba will receive a 28% shareholding in Kibo alongside retaining a 15% shareholding in a new special purpose vehicle to be incorporated for ownership of the Mabesekwa independent power project.

The 300MW high-voltage Caprivi connection between Zambia and Namibia has been inaugurated by the presidents of Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

ExxonMobil’s $4bn offer for Kosmos Energy’s stake in the Jubilee field has exposed major faultlines in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s energy strategy. A faction within the ruling party is determined not to let the western supermajors get a stake in the potential 1.8bn bbl field, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC ) wants a slice

Partner Chariot Oil & Gas has announced that the Eni-operated Rabat Deep 1 well failed to find hydrocarbons. Chariot said the well was drilled to a total depth of 3,180 metres to test the JP-1 prospect. Chariot was fully carried for the well as part of a farm-out to Eni, which was approved in January 2017. The well, drilled by the Saipem 12000 drillship, will now be plugged and abandoned.

The murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bombing on 16 October has refocused attention on the fuel smuggling problem that has cost Libya hundreds of millions of dollars.