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At least three people died and four others are missing after the Trinity Spirit floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel exploded on 2 February off the coast of Nigeria.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and Shell-seeded Nigerian impact investor All On announced on 21 January that 13 Nigerian-owned companies had been selected to receive funds worth $100,000.

The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes set another new record for the size of its caseload in 2021, with power and energy cases the most significant area of work and disputes involving African countries also prominent.

Africa’s natural gas exporters have been warned they need to do more to track their methane emissions, ahead of the adoption of the EU Methane Strategy and in light of the global methane pledge to cut emissions by at least 30% by 2030, which was signed by more than 100 countries at the COP26 Conference in November.

The collapse of the private majority owners of two distribution companies has highlighted persistent structural issues in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry stemming from 2013’s poorly implemented privatisation. Analysts argued that the collapse is indicative of the federal government and regulators’ continued failures to rectify longstanding issues, writes Marc Howard

In the aftermath of the failure of the private sector majority owners of  both Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), African Energy's Marc Howard unravels the consequences of the flawed 2013 privatisation of the discos.

The commercial use of thermolysis or pyrolysis to convert organic waste into biofuels, syngas or pure hydrogen is still experimental in Africa, although the underlying technology is relatively well-established elsewhere. Most of the 22 operating biogas power plants recorded in African Energy Live Data use other methods. Early adopters of the technology include the Ford Silverton plant in Pretoria, H2-Industries and Oak Group Holdings in Egypt, Ghana’s Kumasi Technical University and the British Nigerian Pyrogenesys-led consortium. Success for any one of them will open wide new commercial opportunities, while also helping to address pressing environmental concerns.

There is a middle way that majors will be looking to tread in navigating the energy transition. According to law firm White and Case, huge gas reserves will be a key element in buffering Nigeria from the potential negative effects of the energy transition. Given the increased interest in gas development, there is now more appetite for gas commercialisation projects from industry players and commercial banks.

Oil Production Licence (OPL) 245 is the focus of a $1.7bn claim brought by the Nigerian government against JP Morgan Chase Bank North America in London’s High Court.  What is the asset and why has it created such expensive controversy? African Energy explains.

At the heart of the Nigerian government’s $1.7bn case against JP Morgan Chase Bank North America in London’s High is the claim that JPM breached Quincecare duties when it transferred $875.7m in a pair of transfers to Nigerian bank accounts controlled by Malabu Oil and Gas in relation to the OPL 245 oil block.  African Energy explains what these duties are and what questions the court will need to answer to decide the claim.

The saga of OPL 245 is set to continue in London’s High Court in February, where the Nigerian government will claim JP Morgan Chase failed to meet regulatory requirements when it transferred $875m to a company allegedly controlled by a corrupt former oil minister. This follows a case in Milan last year that exonerated Eni and Royal Dutch Shell of wrongdoing during the purchase of rights for OPL 245 in 2011. Other cases are still active, including the prosecution of eight defendants in Abuja and a Washington arbitration between Eni and the Nigerian government in which the Italian major is claiming damages for delays to the development of OPL 245, writes Marc Howard

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to Daybreak Power Solutions, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Daystar Power Group, for a feasibility study into new solar PV and storage mini-grids for business offtakers.

Ossiomo Power has added 40MW to its 55MW Ossiomo power plant in Benin City, bringing the total capacity to 95MW at the unit, which provides electricity to the Benin Industrial and Enterprise Park, the local Ologbo and Obayantor communities, Edo State Secretariat Complex and the State High Court’s new wing

Soon after Sinohydro Corporation announced that the 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric power (HEP) plant in Niger State would be commissioned by end-2022, the region’s chronic security crisis impacted on the priority scheme, as three Chinese workers were kidnapped from the dam site after a shoot-out that killed workers and police.

West and central Africa-focused independent PetroNor E&P’s chief executive Knut Søvold remains under investigation by the Norwegian economic crime agency, Økokrim, after being detained in a pre-Christmas swoop related to an ongoing case concerning corruption in African projects.