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Energy minister Thierry Tanoh is manoeuvring to strengthen his position, after threatening to resign this summer following deep differences with influential presidential adviser Adama Toungara. Tanoh has stayed in President Alassane Ouattara’s ruling coalition despite his affiliation to the once all-powerful PDCI, which has pulled out of government.

Renewable energy developer eleQtra’s Ivorian subsidiary Kokumbo Energies has selected US firm Knight Piésold to conduct a feasibility study for a 27.7MW run-of-river hydropower project on the Bandama River in Gagnoa district. The study will be funded with a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The project is expected to be completed and operational in early 2022, USTDA said.

Prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly on 7 July launched the Chinese-funded Project for the Development and Rehabilitation of the Electricity Network of Côte d’Ivoire (Proderci).The CFAF460bn ($818m) project aims to improve access to electricity, facilitate cross-border interconnections, meet future demand for connections for industrial and mining customers, improve reliability, reduce technical losses, improve energy efficiency and promote the introduction of renewable energy. The cost will be 95% met by the Export-Import Bank of China, with the government providing the other 5%.

Germany’s KfW Entwicklungsbank, on behalf of Côte d’Ivoire’s state utility, CI-Energies, invites expressions of interest from consultants by 29 June to design and supervise the construction and commissioning of a 37.5MWp solar photovoltaic park in the northern Boundiali region.

A cabinet meeting on 28 February approved the sale of state oil company Petroci’s 37 service stations to Puma Energy. The sale forms part of a restructuring of the company, which made a loss of FCFA39.9bn ($71.6m) in 2015 following the collapse of the international oil price and has run up significant debts. The deal was agreed in 2016 but had been awaiting government approval. Petroci’s retail market share was around 5% at end-2017, behind market leader Total with 35%, Vivo Energy with 29% and Oil Libya with 13%.

Transocean’s Discoverer India drillship has won a five-well drilling contract with Canadian Natural Resources (CNR). According to Transocean’s fleet status report published on 19 February, the contract starts in April and ends in November 2018. The dayrate was not disclosed. The drillship had been idle since December 2016. CNR’s 2018 budget provides for drilling on the Baobab oil field on Block CI-40.

Biokala, a subsidiary of Cote d’Ivoire’s leading agribusiness Sifca, in partnership with France’s EDF, invites expressions of interest by 8 March for the turnkey construction of a 46MW biomass-fired power plant at Ayebo.

President Alassane Dramane Ouattara was on hand to inaugurate the 275MW Soubré hydroelectric power plant on 2 November, reflecting the priority given by his government to infrastructure development and marking another step in Côte d’Ivoire’s efforts to raise its installed generation capacity to 4GW by 2020. The following day saw a three-hour nationwide blackout, but many Ivorians would still agree that delivery on projects, as well as some adroit political manoeuvring, has helped to consolidate Ouattara’s hold on a volatile polity.

GE’s power services business announced on 15 November that it had signed an agreement with Azito Energie to upgrade two gas turbines at the company’s combined-cycle power plant, adding up to 30MW of generation capacity. The project marks GE’s first GT13E2 MXL2 gas turbine upgrade order in sub-Saharan Africa.

President Alassane Ouattara formally inaugurated the 275MW Soubré dam on 2 November. The first of the dam’s three turbines started operations in July. State utility CI-Energies will own and operate the plant, which was built by Sinohydro with 85% of the CFA331bn ($60m) cost met by the Export-Import Bank of China.The same day, Ouattara laid the foundation stone for the 112MW Gribo Popoli dam, 7km downstream from Soubré, which will also be financed by China and is expected to enter service at the end of 2020.

Mobisol has teamed up with West African solar distributor Baobab+ to provide pay-as-you-go solar systems in Côte d’Ivoire. A joint statement said the cooperation combined Mobisol’s strengths in provision of solar hardware and software with Baobab+’s regional experience in customer finance and distribution. Baobab+ was launched in 2015 by microfinance services provider Microcred Group, which has a network of 20 branches and 100,000 clients in Côte d’Ivoire. Mobisol will provide hardware and software, while Baobab+ will focus on sales and distribution.

The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos) has ruled in Ghana’s favour in a maritime border dispute with Côte d’Ivoire, paving the way for drilling to resume on the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (Ten) project. Tullow said it would now work with the government of Ghana to put in place the necessary permits to allow development drilling in the Ten fields to restart. Tullow expects to resume drilling around year-end, which will allow production from the Ten fields to start to increase towards the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel’s design capacity of 80,000 b/d.

The third and final turbine of the 275MW Soubré hydro development is due to start up in October, bringing the country’s installed capacity to 2,269MW. A commissioning ceremony was held in June for the plant at Naoua Falls, on the Sassandra River in the south-western Nawa region. State utility CI-Energies will own and operate the plant, which was built by Sinohydro with financing from the Export-Import Bank of China. The first two turbines have capacity of 90MW, while the third is 95MW.

Two wells drilled by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation have failed to find commercial hydrocarbons. In its Q2 operations report on 24 July, Anadarko said the Paon-6A well on Block CI-103 finished drilling during the quarter and did not encounter hydrocarbons. The well was drilled to appraise the Paon discovery, and the company and its partners are evaluating next steps for the project. On Block CI-527, the Colibri-1X exploration well spudded in June and recently finished drilling.

Côte d’Ivoire marked the commissioning of the country’s largest hydropower plant at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly on 29 June. The first of three 90MW units at the 275MW Soubré hydropower station at Naoua Falls, on the Sassandra River in the south-eastern region of Nawa, is now generating power after being connected to the national grid in late May. The next two units are expected to enter commercial service by October, according to the state utility CI-Energies, which will own and operate the plant.