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Gas from Eni’s Republic of Congo (ROC – Brazaville) operations, rather than electricity generated at Inga Falls in Democratic Republic of Congo, is expected to power the latest version of MagIndustries Corporation’s Kouilou minerals development.

Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) invites bids by 12 June from private developers to finance, build, own and operate the 550MW Didessa hydropower plant in Oromia regional state. The project, located on the Didessa River, a tributary of the Abay, will be developed on a build, operate and transfer basis, with the entire capacity and the plant’s estimated gross annual output of 5580GWh to be sold to EEP under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Cobalt International Energy has announced a first discovery in the syn-rift interval in the Bicuar #1A pre-salt deep-water exploratory well on Block 21. The well was drilled to a depth of 5,739 metres and encountered 56 metres of oil and condensate pay from multiple pre-salt intervals. This is the fourth deep-water pre-salt discovery offshore Angola by Sonangol and Cobalt, and the first discovery in the deeper pre-salt syn-rift reservoir. “The syn-rift discovery in Bicuar validates the presence of a viable seal and trap with quality reservoir rocks in the deeper reservoir section,” said Cobalt chief exploration officer James Farnsworth.

Temporary power provider Aggreko has announced a three-year contract extension for its 200MW gas-fired power project in Abidjan, with an option to extend it by a further two years. The Aggreko plant in the Vridi area was installed in 2010, with the first phase of the project producing 70MW. This was increased to 100MW in 2011 and to 200MW in June 2013. With a booming economy and GDP growth of around 9%, demand for energy has been increasing steadily in recent years.

The financing package for Botswana Power Corporation (BPC)’s $1.6bn-plus, 600MW Morupule B coal-fired power station and transmission project has attracted considerable attention. Funding included $379.1m from the World Bank, divided into

Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour was dismissed as head of state energy giant Sonatrach on 23 April, to be replaced by head of production Rachid Hachichi. Respected as an industry professional but widely distrusted for his links to the now discredited Bouteflika clan, and especially his ties to the politically ambitious former energy minister Chakib Khelil, Ould Kaddour’s position was in doubt even before Abdelaziz Bouteflika departed the presidency.

Sonangol’s new board has said that a thorough investigation of the parastatal’s financial and management problems has revealed that the situation is worse than expected. With $1.6bn of debt payments due by year-end, the company has been in talks with international banks to secure financing. The company’s total debt is estimated at $9.85bn.A 1 December statement by the new board said Sonangol had failed to adjust its strategy to cope with the sharp reduction in revenue caused by the oil price crash.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 14 May appointed lawyer Fortune Chasi as minister of energy and power development. Chasi replaces Joram Gumbo, who was fired shortly after the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) announced a debilitating load-shedding schedule that leaves consumers without power for up to ten hours a day. Chasi’s appointment has been welcomed by many in the energy industry, who see him as young, hardworking and up to date with new energy technologies.

South Africa’s renewable energy procurement programme has attracted dozens of companies and can report some success in bringing down prices between the REIPPP’s first and second rounds. But hints that local content criteria may be ‘redefined’ to include key components could make an already tough bidding process less attractive and competitive, write Daniel Marks and Hugh Boylan.

The Mozambican government has issued a general procurement notice for a project to support reforms to its renewable energy policy and regulatory framework. The government has received a grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, which is managed by the African Development Bank. The project seeks to put in place a feed-in tariff regime and a mini-grid policy and regulatory framework. Work to be tendered includes the production of standard power purchase agreements for renewable energy projects smaller than 5MW and medium-sized projects of 10MW; guidelines for connection to the distribution network of small renewables projects; and guidelines for renewables investors.

The success of the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) and the viability of the Desertec vision, which critics still argue is fanciful, depends on resolving the transport problem as well as finding willing partners in North Africa.

Statoil’s Cachalote-1 exploration well in offshore Area 2 has failed to hit oil and instead encountered non-commercial gas. The well was the first deep-water exploration well to be drilled on the block and discovered a gas-bearing reservoir in an Upper Cretaceous deep-water channel system. Partner Tullow Oil said the well found 38 metres of good quality gas-bearing reservoir sandstones in an Upper Cretaceous objective on the outboard flank of the regionally important Ibo High. Tullow said the gas was unlikely to be commercial on a standalone basis.

National Water and Electricity Company has issued a general procurement notice for goods and services associated with the Gambia Electricity Access Project. The project, to be financed with grants from the African Development Fund and the African Development Bank’s Transition Support Facility TSF-Pillar 1, aims to increase access to electricity over four years from November 2019.

Office National de l’Electricité (ONE) has issued a tender (SP 465 985) for the turnkey installation of a new coal storage area at Jorf Lasfar, where Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa)-owned Jorf Lasfar Energy Company 5&6 is expanding the coal-fired generation complex.

Oil marketers have ended a strike that had virtually paralysed Nigeria in the final days of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, agreeing to resume fuel deliveries following talks on 25 May with finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The crisis started with a protest by oil marketers demanding what they said were outstanding subsidy payments, and worsened with a strike by staff at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), while tanker drivers stopped work because the marketers were not paying them until they received their subsidy payments.