Search results

The ground-breaking power purchase agreement signed by independent power producer Azura Power in 2013 is again being targeted by a National Assembly probe. Azura has been widely seen as a model for private investment in the electricity supply industry, but pressure continues as politicians seek a way out of a deal they see as too costly, writes Adaora Elemide in Abuja.

Five more memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed in Rabat on 5 December, bringing more partners into the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project.

Nigerian independent Green Energy International (Geil) says it could invest up to $750m over the next three years to boost output at the Otakikpo field to 25,000 b/d. Geil is also due to commission a 6MW gas-to-power (GTP) plant and a 12m cf/d modular liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) extraction plant.

Governors of the country’s 36 states have taken legal action to stop the federal government privatising five of the ten power plants developed under the Nigerian Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) initiative.

Ahead of elections next year, the team that has pushed reforms to the electricity supply industry is working to ensure international financial commitments for electrification and the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) are secured, and the broad lines of the All Progressive Congress (APC) administration’s policy continue, a senior source told African Energy. A particular focus is making sure that World Bank Group (WBG) commitments are implemented.

Renewable energy developer Darway Coast Nigeria has raised a seven-year, fixed-rate local currency debt facility for a mini-grid programme in southern Nigeria, in the first transaction backed by the Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (Infracredit)’s Clean Energy Funding Programme (CEFP).

After years of futile exploration, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced the discovery of oil in Bauchi and Gombe states in north-eastern Nigeria, just as his administration enters its final period in office. However, there is considerable scepticism about an announcement that could allow fragile northern states to tap into additional federal funding, writes Adaora Elemide in Abuja.

The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has given its approval for the development of the 1,650MW Makurdi hydroelectric power (HEP) plant.

Additions of renewable power generating capacity are proceeding more slowly than expected in markets with weak grids, such as Nigeria and Malawi. In response, developers are assessing potential solutions including increased baseload capacity and ancillary services agreements.

Global Alliance for People and Planet and the Norwegian government have pledged more funding to support the development of solar power in Sahel countries.

Addax Petroleum Corporation has ended a 24-year presence in Nigeria after Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) confirmed on 1 November that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the transfer, settlement and exit agreement for oil mining leases (OMLs) 123, 124, 126 and 137.

Crossboundary Energy will deploy solar PV hybrid power plants at breweries in Enugu and Oyo states, continuing its growth in Nigeria following a recent $60m deal with Engie.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has issued a request for qualification (RfQ) for a 30-year operations and maintenance contract for the 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric power in Nigeria.

Contracts have been awarded to build solar PV power plants at seven tertiary institutions under the Energising Education Programme (EEP)’s second phase. The EEP is a World Bank-funded programme aimed at improving energy access in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Nine universities are slated to receive support in phase one.

Glencore received the ‘highest ever fines and costs ordered in a British corporate criminal conviction’, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office said after a London court found the resources giant guilty of graft – in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria – and of ‘failures to prevent bribery’ in Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan in 2011-14. Chastened once more after its practises were reported in eye-watering legal detail, Glencore has embarked on “an extensive programme of corporate reform”.