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Washington has added to its support for the Lobito Corridor by backing a new spur to north-western Zambia. With Brussels now also on board, western efforts to counter Chinese influence over critical minerals are gathering pace.

Once fully commissioned, the nameplate 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery complex is expected to transform the downstream sector in West Africa, but other major refinery projects are also under way in Angola and Ghana, writes James Gavin.

Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water has invited engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors to submit bids for the 400kV Huambo-Lubango backbone transmission line.

Ivanhoe Mines has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lobito Atlantic International (LAI) to send copper concentrate mined in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Angola’s Lobito Port by rail. Efforts to improve the route to market for copper and other transition/critical metals from the DRC and Zambia comes as demand is surging.

Most big oil companies reported a sharp falls in profits in Q2 2023, but Africa still figures prominently in results and future plans – and where it doesn’t majors are able to divest at least some of their more attractive assets.

Afentra has announced a deal with the BP/Eni Azule Energy joint venture that will increase the London AIM-listed independent’s shallow-water interests in Angola, as it acquires a further 12% of Block 3/05 and up to 16% of Block 3/05A for $48.5m and further payments of up to $36m subject to oil price, production and development conditions.

Not since the Cold War have countries in the Global South featured so prominently in the thinking of the world’s major powers – something clearly visible in the shifting patterns in energy markets and renewable investments. For many, that presents an opportunity. Angola’s President João Lourenço has sought to position his country as an investor-friendly environment and to convince critics he is serious about tackling corruption and other ills that flourished under his predecessor José Eduardo dos Santos. This is a calculated effort to win support from donors and has already received a positive response in Washington and other capitals.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim) has approved a $900m loan to build two solar PV plants for the Ministry of Energy and Water (Minea).

Amid a waning consensus over strategy, the Opec+ meeting in early June broke up with African members unhappy at an unwelcome squeeze on their future production while Saudi Arabia made a unilateral output cut of 1m b/d, reflecting Riyadh’s determination to shape market forces, writes Jon Marks.

The first phase of the 50MW Solenova Caraculo solar PV project in Angola's Namibe province has been inaugurated.

The 1,290km Lobito corridor is being lined up for some $250m in financing from the United States’ Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and, reflecting the tone of recent US (re-) engagement with the region, the White House has also mooted an expansion of the Lobito corridor to the Tanzanian coast.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are often central to whether a project can move ahead, with the first two of these often the determining factors. But “in Angola it’s G that is often much more important than E and S,” a consultant active in southern Africa told African Energy.

Although Angola’s renewable energy potential is exciting some industry interest, an electricity supply industry that is based on large hydroelectric power (HEP) and gas-to-power plants to provide baseload is unlikely to be radically transformed in the coming years. Amid concern over the impact of low water levels on HEP generation, it is natural gas that will occupy most government attention.

International energy majors are investing to raise oil and gas output and developing solar plants, while others are looking to tap into Angola’s critical minerals and other resources plays. With news flow suggesting considerable activity in diverse energy-related industries, but wary of governance shortfalls, African Energy asks: is it time for investors to get excited about Angola?

Angolan power projects contractor Aenergy and its Portuguese owner Ricardo Leitão Machado are continuing an extensive and detailed legal campaign in the United States and United Kingdom against Luanda-based state entities and various General Electric (GE)-related businesses.