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to the global economy. This will test to the limit Tripoli’s belief that it can renegotiate ever tougher terms with its partners, writes John Hamilton, who edited this African Energy special report

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It was all going so well, and could still do so, but Morocco’s hoped-for offshore boom is under pressure from the slump in crude prices, which has already altered the economics of many international oil companies (IOCs). Under the benevolent eye of Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (Onhym) head Amina Benkhadra, IOCs entered the underexplored Moroccan offshore and onshore in considerable numbers in 2013-14. Many of the entrants were the majors (including BP, Chevron, Repsol and Total) and ‘super-indies’ that Onhym and political leaders in Rabat had long sought to entice into the hydrocarbons-poor kingdom, which for Moroccans includes the disputed Western Sahara. As African Energy wrote in May 2014, this year will be crunch time for Onhym and its 30-plus IOC partners (AE 277/1).

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The path of policy implementation often moves slow in South Africa but when the crunch arrives everyone must adapt as the electricity supply industry is about to nd out, writes Jon Marks in Cape Town.

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On 21 August, the leader of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Presidency Council Fayez Al-Sarraj and eastern-based House of Representatives president Aguila Saleh each announced their own ceasefire. Saleh suggested that a new presidency council could be temporarily established in the demilitarised city of Sirte. His statement was promising in that it echoed parts of US national security adviser Robert O’Brien’s 4 August call for the implementation of a demilitarised solution for Sirte and Jufra – the front line between the GNA and the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) – and the resumption of National Oil Corporation (NOC) operations. 

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Guinea’s ruling party confirmed on 31 August that President Alpha Condé would stand for a third term in elections on 18 October.That the 82-year-old president made no personal announcement may reflect the controversial nature of his decision amid rising political tensions.There is an economic logic behind efforts in recent months to drive forward the country’s biggest project, to develop the huge iron ore reserves at Simandou with an associated 650km transport corridor scheme, and to finally overcome chronic power shortages. But government decisions are also being driven by a political imperative: to get Condé re-elected for what many argue is an unconstitutional third term.

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Issue 437 leads with a look at plans for drilling in Namibia and what they mean for the oil and gas sector's prospects in the country. Other highlights:Renewable projects in the Seychelles are reducing reliance on fuel oils while providing power to luxury resorts on remote islands, although governance remains a challenge for the new government. In Ghana, work on Tema LNG is now complete and Shell is scheduled to supply the first cargo at the end of May, but questions remain over the sustainability of the gas supply. Senegal is maintaining momentum in its energy sector transition, with Africa Investment Exchange participants hearing that only gas and renewables will be procured in future Debt concerns continue to cause chaos in Zambia, where Sinohydro has indefinitely delayed handover of the 750MW Kafue Gorge Lower hydropower project over payment concerns. In Nigeria, the much anticipated gas flaring commercialisation programme sits in limbo, with an apparent lack of political buy-in Oil and gas coverage also includes a look at Tunisia, which could be seeing an exodus of established oil and gas majors, with politics causing trouble for the sector. The issue includes oil and gas maps of Namibia, Tunisia and the Seychelles and a Nigeria gas flaring map.

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The issue leads with a package of articles on Ethiopia by Dan Marks and Marc Howard, examining the  impact of conflict and famine in Tigray and the withdrawal of US development institutions. Power sector coverage also looks at South Africa, where a surprise decision to increase the threshold for power generation licences to 100MW could help clear a major bottleneck for commercial and industrial (C&I) developers and unlock up to 5GW of capacity. Ajay Ubhi writes about Algeria's energy exports to Europe and how they could be affected by the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism.  John Hamilton looks at Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi using climate change as a diplomatic tool with off-grid projects.  James Gavin interviews former Tullow Oil chief executive Paul McDade regarding his new company Afentra and its African plans, which revolve around the continent's oil majors.  James Gavin also looks at gas driving Cameroon's hydrocarbon sector and Angolan E&P.  The African Energy View draws on African Energy Live Data figures and charts to examine the role gas has to play in the continent's energy transition Maps included are of Ethiopian conflict zones and Cameroon oil and gas.

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This issue leads with a story by Jon Marks regarding the falling out between Algeria and Morocco and the issues this raises for the region's stability and the energy flows into the European continent. The article is accompanied by a map of the two countries including conflict zones and energy infrastructure sites.  David Slater writes about a new Africa-EU Energy Partnership report – produced by African Energy’s consultancy team – on progress towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 of providing universal energy access by 2030.  John Hamilton writes about Libya's attempt to to resolve its power and water crises and examines how governance issues in the country may put renewable projects on hold.  Hydrocarbons editor James Gavin  focuses on Angola's busy autumn of drilling as focus moves to stem falling output Marc Howard leads the Finance and policy section with a feature on the international arbitration between Zimbabwe state utility ZETDC and power developer NRE . The African Energy View focuses on Guinea where special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya’s coup ousted President Alpha Condé from control on 5 September.  

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Dan Marks leads the issue with a focus on the potential for a Mozambique/South Africa gas economy, supported by a Marc Howard feature on the Mozambique government’s battle against Islamist insurgents in Cabo Delgado, where a deployment of Rwandan soldiers could help open the way for crucial resumption of big gas projects. John Hamilton examines the latest developments in the political battle at the top of Libya’s energy sector between NOC chief Mustafa Sanalla and oil and gas minister Mohammed Aoun. Power coverage includes a feature on Niger, which has received a boost after a long period of stagnation, with significant PV and HFO on-grid additions and prequalification for a 50MW Scaling Solar project. There is also a feature on the potential for battery storage for both on- and off-grid projects and the financing challenges that remain. Chiwoyu Sinyangwe looks at Zambia’s plan to refinance Zesco’s $2.5bn debt and David Slater examines GreenCo’s selection of the 25MW Ilute solar PV project in Sesheke as its pilot project, which is a major step in the developer’s efforts to demonstrate the bankability of its intermediary offtaker model. Upstream coverage leads with a feature by James Gavin on Kenya, where Tullow Oil’s redesigned South Lokichar development project will boost prospective oil flows while adding to the project’s already prodigious cost. Downstream coverage includes a focus on the recent Egypt-Lebanon gas deal, which shows Cairo’s determination to reinforce its indispensable role as regional leader, but also highlights some of the contradictions in Cairo’s commercial gas strategy. A feature also looks at Guinea where the military junta that deposed president Alpha Condé remains insistent that it’s taking a ‘business as usual’ approach as it starts discussions over the formation of a new government. The African Energy View examines the role of regional power pools.      

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This issue leads with a package of African Energy's coverage of the COP26 summit. This includes a breakdown of each African leader's speeches offered.  In the following story regarding Gecol's movements, John Hamilton offers a rarely seen positive story on Libyan industry.  Zambia's government weighing in on the dispute between Zesco and CEC takes the focus of our lead power story.  James Gavin, Hydrocarbons editor along with a special correspondent open the Upstream section with a feature on Namibian gas IPPs. The GME gas pipeline that runs from Algeria via Morocco to Spain and Zambia's Indeni oil refinery are discussed in this week's Downstream section.   

Issue 381 - 22 November 2018

Sierra Leone: Bid round to reopen in Q1

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Sierra Leone hopes to relaunch its licensing round in Q1 2019 following a change of leadership at the Petroleum Directorate. The round opened in January offering five newly delineated offshore blocks, including areas of undeveloped discoveries from previous drilling campaigns, shallow water and deep and ultra-deep water.

Sierra Leone
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Royal Dutch Shell, Vitol Group and Africa-focused private investment firm Helios Investment Partners have entered into exclusive negotiations for the potential joint acquisition by Vitol and Helios of equity in Shell’s downstream businesses in 19 countries in Africa.

Egypt | South Africa
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A €115m loan for the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) is under appraisal at the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance a 200MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez.The loan represents 31.9% of the total cost of the plant, estimated at €360m. The government aims to increase wind energy’s share of total generation capacity to 12% by 2020, and the NREA prequalified 28 wind power projects in January.

Egypt
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There are some reassuringly familiar international names among the successful bidders for generation plants in Nigeria’s privatisation process, but the successful consortia also contain a number of less-known local companies whose beneficial ownership has not been revealed; some firms are linked to powerful former military leaders.

Nigeria
Issue 362 - 01 February 2018

Mauritania: Chinguetti shutdown

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Malaysia’s Petronas is preparing to cease production at the Chinguetti field as part of the decommissioning process. Sterling Energy said on 26 January the abandonment and decommissioning project was awaiting final government approval. The plan consists of two phases, with cessation of production and temporary well suspension undertaken from early 2018 to Q2 2018, followed by final plugging and abandonment of the well stock in 2019-20.

Mauritania