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The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has invited expressions of interest from consultants for a feasibility study for the expansion of the West African Gas Pipeline. An extension to Côte d’Ivoire had been mooted before the country’s civil conflict, and prime minister Daniel Kablan Duncan said on 29 July that a pipeline running between Lagos and Abidjan would enable more private power producers to improve energy supply in neighbouring countries. Côte d’Ivoire is already supplying power to Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana Benin and Togo via the West African Power Pool, and will also supply Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea once interconnection infrastructure is completed.

Since the anti-Qadhafi rebellion sparked off in mid-February, it has been hard to tell what oil is being exported from Libya and under what circumstances. The most recent estimate from the International Energy Agency is that exports have halted, writes John Hamilton. About two-thirds of Libyan oil is produced by joint ventures between National Oil Corporation (NOC) and international partners. Some of the oil being loaded from ports

Cairo-based Taqa Power, a branch of Citadel Capital-owned Taqa Arabia, has announced the commercial start-up of its 11MW natural gas-fired power plant in Dekheila Port, Alexandria.

The Export Import bank of China has lent Zimbabwe $319m to finance the 300MW expansion of its Kariba hydropower station under a contract awarded to Sinohydro last year (AE 245/10). “This should go a long way in reducing power outages that characterise our power generation.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company is requesting expressions of interest from consultants to develop a network master plan for the country. The project is being funded by a grant from the African Development Bank. The consultant will produce a least-cost network expansion plan covering a 20-year period. Bids are due by 30 April 2019. Contact: Procurement manager, ZETDC Electricity Centre Building 2nd Floor, 25 Samora Machel Avenue, PO Box 377, Harare, Zimbabwe. Tel: +23 47 74598; Email: [email protected].

Rakgas has given Bell Geospace a contract to acquire just under 15,000 line km of airborne survey data in Zanzibar. The contract includes the acquisition of 3D full-tensor gradiometry (FTG) data as well as processing and interpretative services. Flights started on 14 March from Abeid Karume international airport in Zanzibar. Rakgas operates the Pemba Zanzibar Block, which surrounds the island

Cairn Energy has announced that Sir Bill Gammell will retire as non-executive chairman at the annual general meeting on 15 May. He will be succeeded by Ian Tyler, who joined the board as a non-executive director in June 2013. Tyler was chief executive of Balfour Beatty from 2005 until March 2013, and holds a number of other non-executive positions including non-executive chairman of Al Noor Hospitals Group and Bovis Homes Group, and non-executive director of Cable & Wireless Communications and BAE Systems.

Operator Perenco has announced that the Sputnik-1 well, targeting a pre-salt structure in the offshore Arouwe Block, has encountered non-commercial hydrocarbon pay in up to 300 metres of net sandstone reservoir. The Vantage Tungsten Explorer drillship drilled Sputnik-1 to a final depth of 4,868 metres in water depths of 1,023 metres. The rig will now leave the block, and the results of this well will be incorporated into wider understanding of the region, Perenco said.

Tideland Signal has supplied a solar-powered rotating beacon kit to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to automate the historic lighthouse at Jamestown, Accra.

With power cuts causing riots in Kampala, and the start-up of a long-awaited hydro-electric power project delayed for the fourth time this year, Uganda is in for a difficult dry season, writes Adrian J Browne

Demand for natural gas is rising across the continent, as African governments promote gas-to-power (GTP) projects to meet rising electricity consumption and growth industries such as cement look to secure energy supply. But creating business environments that encourage sustainable investment in costly infrastructure remains problematic, even in countries with major offshore gas finds, such as Mozambique and Tanzania – which have hoped to stimulate local investment by incorporating a substantial domestic supply obligation into their proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects.

Having reported that construction of its first solar unit at Ouarzazate, Noor I, developed by a group headed by Riyadh-based Acwa Power, has been brought in 30% under budget, Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) is looking at a range of other projects and investments, including a major industrial development investment with France’s Alcen group.As well as expecting to bring the Ouarzazate complex’s capacity to a minimum 500MW with Noor IV, a 50MW solar photovoltaic (PV) unit, Masen is planning a further major contribution to the Moroccan solar energy target of installing a minimum 2GW by 2020.

The Office of the Ombudsman has said that the names of those convicted of embezzlement of public funds may soon be made public. The office already releases the names of those found guilty of low-level corruption – farmers, taxi drivers, local defence personnel – but is under pressure to reveal those found guilty of bigger crimes. 


The government of Somaliland has announced a production sharing contract (PSC) with Norway’s DNO International for onshore Block SL18. The PSC was signed by Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamoud Silanyo and DNO International executive chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani. DNO has initiated studies on the 12,000km2 block ahead of a seismic programme planned for 2014. Genel Energy and Ophir Energy already have acreage in the self-declared republic, while DNO has acreage across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen.

With all the talk about leapfrogging the grid, it is surprising how little the possible implications have filtered through to the debate about tariffs. The Africa Investment Exchange: Power and Renewables conference in London on 15-16 November saw a lively discussion about potential grid ‘disruptors’, in particular low-cost, small-scale renewable power sold directly to consumers. The technology has huge potential to provide clean power to households and industry at a fraction of the cost of the grid.