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A small number of floating solar plants are already operating across Africa and over a dozen more are being planned. Advocates say the technology can not only generate power, but also expand the generation capacity of underperforming hydroelectric power reservoirs. As dams age and water becomes scarce, development finance institutions could a play critical role in funding the growth of a still-nascent technology, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Despite many challenges, local investors are continuing to make large bets on the mature assets being sold off by international majors. However, the wider economic environment is also difficult, with widespread protests laying bare the scale of the problems facing President Tinubu’s government, writes Leonard Lawal in Abuja with Marc Howard.

Italian major Eni has cleared the last regulatory hurdle for its deal to offload a series of onshore exploration and production licences to Nigerian local player Oando, in a transaction estimated to be worth some $500m. Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja on 19 July – part of a regional tour that also took in talks with the presidents of Republic of Congo and Angola. Descalzi has insisted that Eni remains committed to Nigeria.

French major TotalEnergies has agreed to sell its 10% stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) joint venture to the local Chappal Energies for $860m. SPDC holds 18 licences in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. It is the latest instance of a now well-established trend for international oil companies to sell assets in the country.

Wärtsilä has added 120MW of gas-to-power capacity in Nigeria so far this year, in a sign that demand for commercial and industrial (C&I) plants remains robust. Its strong pipeline of orders in West and North Africa notably includes large offtakers seeking to balance their grids and enable increased renewable energy capacity, the Finnish engine manufacturer told African Energy.

The axing of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS) by President Bola Tinubu has made the fuel far more expensive for Nigerian drivers – prompting Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation to test the local appetite for compressed natural gas as an alternative transport fuel.

Aliko Dangote has kept his cards close to his chest, but his 650,000 b/d refinery in Lekki, Lagos state is set to change the regional downstream balance, writes Leonard Lawal in Lagos.

TotalEnergies and state partner Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) have taken a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Ubeta gas field in the onshore OML 58 licence area.

State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has signed a project development agreement (PDA) with Norway’s Golar LNG for a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project offshore the Niger Delta. NNPC said the development would “monetise vast proven gas reserves from shallow water resources”.

Nigeria’s 19-block licensing round announced in May includes seven blocks that were last on offer in the aborted 2022 mini-bid round. The round aims to attract both local and international interest to what is mostly offshore acreage, writes James Gavin.

A stronger sense is emerging that the federal government in Abuja is finally prioritising asset transfers, despite state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC)’s opposition to key deals – notably ExxonMobil’s proposed sale of shallow water assets to Seplat Energy.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said international oil companies will be pressed to supply the privately-owned Dangote refinery, rather than just focusing on the export market.

Nigeria Stock Exchange (NGX)-listed conglomerate Transcorp Group’s two generating company subsidiaries already provide some 20% of Nigeria’s grid capacity. Now one of them, Transafam Power, is looking to increase output by 35% at many of its units while the other, Transcorp Power, is eyeing up a possible utility-scale solar plant.

Yet another grid collapse in early June underscored the perilous state of Nigeria’s electricity supply industry, but the 2023 Electricity Act, the recent creation of an unbundled independent system operator and other reforms from President Tinubu’s government may augur for better days ahead, writes Marc Howard.

A major source of natural gas for South Africa could be constrained as soon as 2025, with declining reserves at Mozambique’s Pande and Temane fields potentially leading to supply shortages. South Africa will need to secure new sources of feedstock if it is to develop the gas-to-power projects that many see as essential to provide baseload for the renewable energy sector that African Energy Live Data shows is gaining momentum.