Search results

Markets have welcomed the announcement that five groups have been selected to take over PHCN’s generation plants, and that distribution bids will be announced soon. But enthusiasm about Nigeria’s power privatisation programme is tempered by concerns over some of the shareholders, write Leo Lawal in Lagos and Jon Marks.

A team from the African Development Bank (AfDB) visited Djibouti in mid-June to discuss geothermal development plans. The AfDB has offered to plug any gap in existing donor funding.

State-owned Geothermal Development Company (GDC) has signed project implementation and steam supply agreements with three groups that will each develop estimated 35MW independent power producer (IPP) plants at the Menengai geothermal site. The three groups are UK-based Quantum Power East Africa, the local Sosian Energy and the OrPower Twenty Two consortium of US companies Ormat Technologies (51%) and Symbion Power (24.5%), alongside Mombasa-headquartered Civicon (24.5%). Ormat also announced on 3 November that OrPower Twenty Two had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power for its project.

Paris-based private equity investor Eranove Group has moved quickly to issue a call for expressions of interest from engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) specialists to develop a new 350MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant. Eranove’s project fits with government plans to double national generation capacity to 4GW by 2020. The Council of Ministers on 31 August approved a plan for Abidjan’s two established independent power producers, Eranove’s local generation subsidiary Compagnie Ivoirienne de Production d’Electricité (Ciprel) and Globeleq’s Azito Energie, to further expand in the next three years.

Just two weeks after declaring commerciality at its large Ain Tsila gas discovery in south-east Algeria, Irish independent Petroceltic announced a planned reverse takeover of Melrose Resources, satisfying its ambition to acquire some production directly and solidifying control of its major Algerian asset, writes John Hamilton.

US company Badger Licensing has announced a contract to provide proprietary technology and basic engineering for a 300,000 t/yr ethylbenzene/styrene monomer (EBSM) plant.

The government of the breakaway republic of Somaliland has given ministerial approval for Jacka Resources to farm into Petrosoma’s Odewayne Block, taking 50%

The Algerian national oil company continues to attempt to put its house in order, with Sonatrach president director-general (PDG) Abdelhamid Zerguine calling for an organisation-wide inquiry to check that qualifications.

A new fund focusing on renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa was launched on 12 March in Nairobi. The African Renewable Energy Fund (Aref) reached its first close with $100m of capital committed. Of this, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is providing $25m from its balance sheet, $25m from its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa) and $4.5m from the Global Environment Facility. Aref has been developed by the African Biofuel and Renewable Energy Company (Abrec) and the AfDB for over two years, with the AfDB and Sefa the lead sponsors.

More than 20 years ago, African Energy was reporting on hopes for exploration outside the Lower Congo Basin. Issue 1, in April 1998, reported plans for a licensing round to offer blocks 26-30, backed by 2D seismic from Western Geophysical, but the focus at the time was on the big signature bonuses expected for blocks 31-33, badly needed by the government and Sonangol as civil war continued onshore.

Anthony Khama, son of founding president Sir Seretse Khama and younger brother of President Ian Khama, has joined the board of Australian miner A-Cap Resources’ local subsidiary A-Cap Resources Botswana.

Swedish independent power plant developer Nykomb Synergetics has signed a contract with Société Nationale d'Éléctricité du Sénégal (Senelec) for the construction of a 125 MWe coal-fired power plant in the village of Sendou, 35km south-east of Dakar.

Harare has taken another step towards tackling the country’s power supply deficit with the start of tendering for 900MW of new capacity at Hwange and Kariba

The Nigeria-based Africa Finance Corporation plans to set up a 12MW heavy fuel oil power plant in Bissau, as part of a project to deploy emergency power and rehabilitate the transmission and distribution network (AE 132/22)

Energie Solaire Prosolia announced on 12 November that it had signed an agreement with the country’s Ministry of Energy to develop three solar parks with combined generation capacity of 13MW. The company, a Senegal-based subsidiary of Spain’s Prosolia Energy, will now begin negotiations with state utility Société National d’Electricité du Sénégal over a 20-year power purchase agreement.