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It hardly rates on the scale of the drama that a courageous Tunisian population delivered to the world in ousting Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, but manoeuvrings by members of the former presidential circle to allow them to profit handsomely with little effort from the award of contracts for a gas-fired

The project to build a 1,320MW coal-fired baseload plant at Safi is moving ahead – with the prospect of financial close by year-end – following the start of work on an essential parallel project, building a new port to provide a hub for industrial giant Office Chérifien des Phosphates and facilities to import the estimated 3.5m t/yr of coal that will fuel the power plant being developed by GDF Suez and the local Nareva Holding.

The passing of founding president Robert Gabriel Mugabe is another step in the rites of passage towards what over 15m Zimbabweans hope will eventually become a secure and sustainable economy and society. However, the 95-year-old autocrat’s death offers no solutions for reversing economic decline or for easing political tensions, as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) calls for mass protests to remove President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

Under pressure to raise finance to meet its Kenyan commitments, Lion Petroleum has agreed to merge with Canadian company Taipan Resources. Taipan has agreed to provide Lion with bank guarantees to fund its work programme on blocks 1 and 2B, and Lion shareholders will receive Taipan shares

African governments are united in calling for a better deal from the new global round of climate talks in Copenhagen.

Economic recovery has given a new impetus to the long-mooted Batoka Gorge hydro project on the Zambezi River, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka

On 13 June, Tullow announced it had opened its offer for 4m shares to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) at an offer price of 31 cedis ($20)/share (AE 210/19).

As Tanzania’s energy crisis deepens, US developer Symbion Power has taken over the 120MW Ubungo power plant, which has been idle for nearly three years. Ubungo was previously owned by Dowans Holding, whose controversial contract was terminated in August 2008.

Local community groups have reached agreement with the developers of the Kinangop wind park in the Rift Valley following the latest protests over compensation and health risks. Since construction of the 60.8MW project began in July last year, Kinangop’s development has been dogged by protests from local people who say they were not properly consulted over the project development and that compensation provisions are insufficient.

Years of relying on imported power have left Botswana unprepared to meet demand through its own-build programme, but the recruitment of advisors for the troubled Morupule B, a tender for 600MW of private generation capacity and calls for an international partner to take control of the state power utility suggest Gaborone is getting to grips with the situation, writes Dan Marks. While the Southern African Power Pool and its biggest supplier, South Africa, have failed to provide sufficient electricity to make up supply gaps, Botswana has struggled to raise its domestic generation capacity. Another supply crunch is looming: South Africa’s Eskom, which generated 68% of the electricity consumed in Botswana in 2011, signed a much-reduced agreement in January to supply 100MW of firm capacity and another 200MW on a non-firm basis until 31 July.

Presidential advisor Rilwanu Lukman used CWC Associates' Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference 2008 to set out his stall for the reforms the Yar'Adua administration is piloting through the political system - while not revealing all the goodies he is trying to sell Nigeria and the global industry, as outlined in the draft programme seen by African Energy and reported in.

Despite a continuing stand-off over the sharing of oil facilities and future of oil-producing blocks along the border, the Government of Southern Sudan is pressing ahead with plans to develop its oil sector. South Sudan’s oil sector is both the most critical and the most contentious element of its economic future. According to BP’s latest statistical review of world energy, Sudan produced an average 490,000 b/d in 2009, and at year-end had proven reserves of 6.7bn bbls. An estimated 75% of known oil reserves are in South Sudan,

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa remains strong, and with a new study showing that energy infrastructure remains among the region’s most urgent needs, a new generation of major public and privately-funded investments is expected to emerge.

By the end of 2018, natural gas and dual fuel plants using gas will have increased from 40% of installed capacity in 2010 to nearly 48%, according to the new African Energy Data Book. The increase in gas usage has often been at the expense of coal plants, which have decreased as a proportion of total generation from 29% to 20% since 2010, although coal capacity has grown by 13% over the same period. Use of liquid fuels has also decreased.There is a clear need and appetite for gas-fired power in Africa.

Senior officials and some notable international investors are optimistic that Egypt’s upstream sector is back on track, but this does not mean that some casualties have not been left by the wayside. The announcement of a new licensing round and the prospect of others later this year is the latest indication of the opportunities now on offer. Field developments are under way on and offshore, but Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has not paid back arrears owed to international oil companies (IOCs) as quickly as it said it would, and a number of IOCs have suffered because of this.