Search results

The government has responded to a long-awaited report on electricity tariffs by rejecting some key recommendations, notably the consultants’ call to move to cost-reflective tariffs by raising prices for residential customers while reducing costs for businesses, including mining companies, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

Construction of the 189MW Biópio and the 96MW Baía Farta solar PV plants in Benguela province was completed on 20 July. The two plants have a combined installed capacity of 285MW, enough to supply power to 1.8m people. Construction began in March 2021.

Growthpoint Properties continue its plan to install 20MW of solar capacity at properties across South Africa.

BP and Kosmos Energy are finalising a new production-sharing contract (PSC) with the government of Mauritania for block C8 offshore, where the Orca-1 exploration well discovered gas in 2019. 

In planning “to optimise the commercial value of sales for the gas production” from its Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquified natural gas (LNG) project, Kosmos Energy is looking to leverage high spot market prices for its product, even if it incurs a penalty charge for making the sales.

Inglis also provided an update on Yakaar-Teranga (Y-T) in the Senegalese offshore, saying progress was being made for the first phase of development, in which operator BP holds 60% equity, Kosmos 30%, and state Société des Pétroles du Sénégal (Petrosen) 10%.

Dublin-based Kenmare Resources has appointed former Tullow Oil chief financial officer Tom Hickey as its new financial director and executive director. London Stock Exchange- and Euronext Dublin-listed Kenmare’s main focus is its titanium and zircon operation at the Moma mine in northern Mozambique.

Scatec has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) to construct a 50MW solar PV plant at Selebi-Phikwe.

Invictus Energy has identified multiple drill-ready prospects in its 80%-owned and operated Cabora Bassa project, after gaining the rights in August to exploration rights to blocks 1848 and 1849 in northern Zimbabwe. Following a fund-raising, and unfulfilled talks with potential partners, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed firm is going ahead with drilling on its own.

Nairobi-headquartered Adamantine Energy’s wholly-owned subsidiary Adamantine Energy Seychelles Ltd (AESL) has signed an agreement to formally acquire a 100% -operated stake in two offshore blocks, heralding the potential restart of oil exploration activities in Seychelles waters.

Progress has been reported on a $400m compressed natural gas (CNG) plant on the shores of Lake Kivu, at Bwishyura, in the Karongi district of Western Province. Methane gas from Lake Kivu will be converted into CNG, which will be used as a substitute for petrol and diesel fuel and liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

Recently dismissed National Oil Corporation chairman Mustafa Sanalla claims his successor Farhat Bengdara is planning a deal with UAE-based Al-Ghurair Group over the Ras Lanuf oil refinery that could end up costing NOC up to $600m/yr. For a decade, Al-Ghurair subsidiary Trasta Energy and NOC have been in a relentless dispute over the Libyan Emirati Refining Company (Lerco) joint venture – and the refinery hasn’t operated since 2013.

Price hikes are expected to follow Zambia’s $1.3bn IMF bailout package, which should help to consolidate economic gains made in the last year. But further reform, including the divestment of state utility Zesco’s operating assets, is causing some trepidation among Zambians.

A substantial number of African leaders are expected in London on 19 September for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 in Balmoral, Scotland on 8 September. The major international gathering in London will provide a rare opportunity for informal meetings, as politicians engage while they mourn the monarch – whose service to the Commonwealth, hard work and friendly relations with a great number of political leaders over many decades was particularly appreciated.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s 38-month extended credit facility (ECF) deal, approved on 31 August, gives priority to “optimising and strategically divesting” state utility Zesco’s operating assets from 2023, as a key element in reforms to the electricity supply industry.