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With Tullow Oil’s shares trading at their lowest levels since 2009, results of the Frégate well currently drilling on Block 7 offshore Mauritania will be closely watched. Exploration elsewhere on the West African coast has not so far matched the spectacular success of Ghana, and Tullow cites Mauritania, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, as the region’s best prospects. Frégate spudded in mid-August, and with rig rates estimated at $1.2m/day, plus $10m mobilisation and demobilisation costs, the bill is expected to be heavy.

An early draft of a new hydrocarbons law was presented in late March by senator Fidèle Sulubika, but still awaits amendments to include elements drawn from the legislation of other African countries such as Angola, Nigeria and Algeria.

China’s Yingli Green Energy Holding Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Yingli Green Energy Spain has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Senelec to build a 2MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Dakar. The facility will supply power to the new Diamniadio international conference centre, which will host the 15th Francophonie summit in November. Yingli will supply the PV modules for the project, which is expected to produce 3.7MWh/yr.

Two consortia from Russia and South Korea will proceed to the final phase of bidding for a contract to build a 60,000 b/d refinery near Lake Albert, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said on 24 June. The ministry said in statement that a consortium led by South Korea’s SK Energy and another led by Russia’s RT Global Resources had submitted qualifying bids by the 30 May deadline.

French energy giant Engie claims to have become the market leader in off-grid solar in Africa following the acquisition of Germany’s Mobisol. When the transaction closes, which is expected in October, Mobisol will join solar home system company Fenix International and mini-grid developer PowerCorner under the umbrella of Engie’s distributed power business. The company has been aggressively targeting the market with the intention of being able to provide the full range of electrification options to emerging countries.

Emergency plans were pushed through in August to help to alleviate the worst of Tanzania’s power rationing.  But there are understandable concerns about cost and corruption, and fears that larger projects will not come to fruition any time soon, writes Adrian J Browne.

The Export-Import Bank of India announced in December that it had signed a line of credit (LoC) agreement with the government of Mozambique, dated 20 September 2012. The agreement makes available a $250m LOC to purchase goods, machinery, equipment and services from India to improve the quality of power supply in Mozambique.

Some MD1,586m ($199m) was invested in hydrocarbons exploration in 2009, of which MD1,497m was spent by Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (Onhym’)s partners, according to

US solar developer Renewvia Energy Corporation has teamed up with Singapore-based renewable energy investor Dream Projects Incubators (DPI) to develop solar micro-grids in Kenya and Nigeria. On 17 March, the two companies announced the formation of a special purpose entity to capitalise large portfolios of solar micro-grid projects in sub-Saharan Africa. The first ten projects have received capital support from the French Development Bank and the World Bank, according to the partners.

Eskom says it’s now keen to see the South African power market open up to more players, but the utility is painfully aware that such a move would need better policy leadership than at present, writes Thalia Griffiths. Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell has a vision for South Africa in which badly needed infrastructure spending is used as the motor to protect the economy from global recession.

According to SouthWest Energy chairman and chief executive Tewodros Ashenafi, the use of full-tensor gravity (FTG) geophysical surveying technology – initially developed by Bell Labs for the US Navy’s mapping of stealth submarines and more recently applied in Uganda by Tullow Oil – had proved invaluable, even if it initially caused suspicion in the heavily militarised Ogaden region

Austria’s OMV has completed the sale to Perenco of its 50% stake in the Ashtart oil field in the Gulf of Gabes and in the Serept operating company. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but OMV’s average net production from Ashtart was 3,000 boe/d in 2016. The remaining 50% stake in both Ashtart and Serept continues to be held by Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has said that the government’s decision to create a new transmission company will not affect the value of its shares.

Private equity has a growing role to play in developing African infrastructure and building up companies, but the going can be tough for fund managers looking to tap conventional investors who feel comfortable in North America, Europe and many Asian markets

Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières (ETAP) plans to set up an international subsidiary based outside Tunisia.