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Nigeria and Angola are responsible for the vast majority of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) supply shortfall that is helping to sustain high global oil prices. Above-ground issues including theft and sabotage continue to contribute to a large deficit from the two sub-Saharan oil giants.

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) has denied local media reports in Nigeria that it had signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Mabon Power for 40MW from the Dadin Kowa hydropower plant.

Commodity giant Glencore has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay the US authorities almost $1.2bn to end investigations into bribery and market manipulation. The settlement was part of a coordinated resolution with criminal and civil authorities in the US, UK, and Brazil announced on 24 May.

A dispute over loans given to Aiteo Eastern E&P to pay for its acquisition of Nigerian oil assets from Shell in 2015 is heading for arbitration after a London court ruling. One lender warned that a default could have serious consequences for the Nigerian banking system.

While the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has reported progress with plans to sell at least some of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) gas-fired plants, opposition to the privatisation from state governments and other lobbies continues. Nigerian government sources have told African Energy the sales process has stalled with no immediate sign of a breakthrough.

Surging prices for wheat, oil and other commodities are placing strain on individuals, businesses and governments, with an increasing number of sub-Saharan countries now classed as ‘debt-stressed’. Defaults may be avoided this year, but ‘food riots’ could flare up. Yet commodity exporters may profit as the energy transition and geopolitical shifts present opportunities for everything from natural gas to transition minerals, writes Marc Howard, with African Energy staff.

Sun King – the rebranded Greenlight Planet – has raised $260m in a funding round. The series D round attracted major private institutional investors. The fundraising was seen by some observers as a vote of confidence in the solar home system industry, which has suffered negative press in recent months over alleged sharp business practices and continues to face questions about the sustainability of business models.

Data from the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics gives a picture of petrol prices across Nigeria. Sources at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told African Energy the major reason for regional pump price differences was “the lack of regulatory oversight”.

Sub-Saharan African countries flared 12.15bcm of natural gas in 2021, according to newly-released data from the World Bank Group’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), the equivalent of 32.4m tonnes of CO2 and $1.4bn worth of gas sales.

The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) scheme has secured more funding for studies – this time from the Opec Fund for International Development – despite some scepticism about the mega-project’s potential to ever get off the ground. Consultants have been lining up, with Australia’s Worley contracted to provide engineering services.

Less than a year from elections, numerous candidates are eyeing up the prize of taking over from President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Crippling foreign exchange shortages have led Starsight Energy to refinance its debt to two development finance institutions through local currency funding from Chapel Hill Denham’s Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund.

Savannah subsidiary Accugas has signed an addendum to a gas sales agreement with First Independent Power (FIPL) which could see Accugas increase supplies by 30 mcf/d to 65 mcf/d.

Transcorp Power plans to increase generation capacity by 243MW, in part from the return of some capacity at the Ughelli gas-fired power plant. 

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners are planning to create what they call the world’s largest mini-grid market in Nigeria, using the new Leveraging Energy Access Finance (Leaf) financing model to support the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)’s Nigeria Electrification Programme (NEP).