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Baraka Petroleum has been forced to pull out of its Mali blocks because of funding difficulties, but the country whose potential it pioneered is now seeing brisk licensing interest from a wide range of players, writes Rosie Collyer.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) is awaiting regulatory approval for a farm-in to offshore blocks 11B/12B. The company said in a shareholder presentation it hoped to drill in Q4 2013 or Q1 2014. The well is eagerly awaited as providing a first test of South Africa’s deep offshore potential

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on 23 February approved allowable revenue for state utility Eskom of R205bn ($15.7bn), equivalent to an average tariff increase of 2.2%, for the year 2017-18. The figure includes a return for Eskom of R33.7bn and costs for purchasing power from independent power producers worth R23bn. Nersa has seen a period of transition after its last regulatory clearing account (RCA) determination – the method by which Eskom can recoup prudently incurred costs – was overturned by Gauteng High Court (AE 330/5).

Statoil has decided to cancel the Stena Carron rig contract after two dry wells on pre-salt targets in Kwanza Basin blocks 38 and 39. “Statoil’s first well results from the area have been disappointing and, although the company still sees remaining prospectivity in the basin and on the Statoil acreage, more time is needed to evaluate the well results and mature new prospects before deciding on future activities,” the company said.So far this year, Statoil has suspended Diamond Offshore’s Ocean Vanguard rig, Saipem’s Scarabeo 5, China Oilfield Services Limited’s COSL Pioneer, Transocean’s Spitsbergen, and Songa Offshore’s Songa Trym.

The Angola Liquefied Natural Gas (ALNG) consortium is pushing ahead with development of the Soyo liquefaction plant – now estimated to cost “just over $9bn” – with target start-up set for February 2012, according to Sonangol Gas president Antonio

State utility Régie de Production et Distribution d’Eau et d’Electricité (Regideso) has given a joint venture of Italy’s CMC di Ravenna and Egypt’s Orascom Construction a contract for the construction of the Jiji and Mulembwe hydropower plants with a combined installed capacity of 48MW. The contract, valued at €67.8m ($75.94m), was signed on 17 October, according to a notice published on the World Bank’s project and procurement website.

US indie Vanco Energy Company, Russia’s Lukoil, the government and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) have signed a new petroleum agreement covering the Cape Three Points Deepwater block in the Tano Basin (AE 145/13).

Office Nationale des Hydrocarbures et des Mines on 22 September announced the signing of a reconnaissance contract with Royal Dutch Shell for the Issouka onshore area in north-east Morocco. This followed a similar announcement on 9 September of a reconnaissance contract with Spain’s Repsol Exploracion Atlas for the onshore Aoufouss area in eastern Morocco.

State oil authority Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Stratégiques has signed an agreement giving Spectrum ASA exclusive brokerage rights to more than 69,000km of vintage seismic data for offshore and onshore areas. The agreement also grants Spectrum the right to reprocess the various datasets and to license them to oil companies on a multi-client basis. Spectrum’s existing library in the region includes 3,626km of recently reprocessed pre-stack time migration (PSTM) data over the Morondava/Majunga basins to the west, 1,440km of PSTM data over the lle Sainte Marie area in the east, and a further 622km in the south over the Cap Sainte Marie.

Austrian technology group Andritz announced on 6 March that it had received an order worth more than €120m ($141m) to supply hydro and electromechanical equipment to the 350MW Abdelmoumen pumped storage project on the Issen River in Taroudant province. Andritz is part of a joint venture led by France’s Vinci Construction Grands Projets which will build the plant for Office Nationale de l’Électricité and de l’Eau Potable.

Despite promises from its Saudi-led management and legal advisers that billionaire owner Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi would resolve the financial crisis at Société Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage (Samir), the refiner remains in deep crisis, with creditors circling and no sign of the Mohammedia plant reopening. Following months of argument and delays, and an apparent agreement to restructure outstanding debt with a majority of creditors, the Tribunal de Commerce de Casablanca appeal court ruled on 1 June that Samir should go into liquidation as it was “irredeemably damaged”.

Australia’s Flow Energy is planning exploration work in Block L6 on the Kenyan coast and has submitted an environmental impact assessment to the National Environment Management Authority

Houston-based Vaalco Energy on 16 September announced the start of production from the North Tchibala 1-H well, marking the first offshore output from the Dentale reservoir. The well, drilled to a total depth of 3,400 metres, is the second to be drilled and placed on production at Vaalco’s new Southeast Etame/North Tchibala (SEENT) platform on the Etame Marin permit. The well was brought on line at a rate of just over 3,000 b/d, and the Transocean Constellation II jackup rig is moving to the Avouma/South Tchibala platform to conduct workover operations.

As Chevron steps up the pace of exploration along the West African coast, it has announced a final investment decision on the Mafumeira Sul project offshore Cabinda.

Spain and Morocco have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a third power interconnector. The proposed 400kV line, with an expected technical capacity of 700MW, will export renewable energy into the European grid, mainly derived from Morocco’s solar power development plan, which in turn will reduce the marginal price of electricity in the Spanish market, according to a statement on 14 February by the Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE).