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Rating agency Standard & Poor’s has stuck by its ‘stable’ outlook in the wake of the presidential election, viewing Nigeria’s robust balance sheet as a counterweight to its political risks.

For an industry in which the need for large-scale investments often means developments take years, if not decades, to come to fruition, things can move remarkably quickly in the world of natural gas exports.

The ‘accidental president’ Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan was elected by an overwhelming majority in the 16 April presidential election, signalling four more years of his agenda to tackle Nigeria’s crippling lack of power supply and reform the oil and gas industry.

Shell, Total and Agip have sold their stake in the onshore OML 40 Block to Elcrest Exploration & Production Nigeria, a consortium of local company Starcrest Nigeria Energy (owned by Nigerian business mogul Emeka Offor’s Chrome Group) and the UK-based Eland Oil and Gas.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has signed a $101m contract for a pipeline system to gather associated gas that is now flared for use in the domestic gas market with Saipem Contracting Nigeria Ltd.

There was no change in the system of awarding term crude lifting contracts for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s oil in the run-up to the April elections, with the usual raft of well-connected local traders joining government and international company lifters being appointed to trade some 1.51m b/d from 1 May 2011 in deals valued at some $32bn.

Following expiry of the initial exploration phase extension, negotiations are taking place between the Joint Development Authority (JDA), which oversees the Nigeria/São Tomé Joint Development Zone, and companies holding stakes in blocks 2, 3 and 4. An initial six-month extension of exploration phase I in the three blocks expired on 14 March, and the contracting parties

Moves by Afren to buy more Nigerian and other African assets will be watched with close interest following its $500m bond issue, which concluded in February raising more that $450m due to “very strong demand”, according to chief executive Osman Shahenshah.

Shell has shortlisted bidders for four onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, and with Goodluck Jonathan pushing economic growth in the region as a plank of his re-election campaign, considerable speculation surrounds other blocks, including NPDC’s plans for oil exploration in Ogoniland. But getting projects off the ground remains a challenge in this troubled territory, write Leonard Lawal in Lagos and African Energy staff

With presidential and parliamentary elections only weeks away, President Goodluck Jonathan has given his campaign a timely boost by announcing significant progress in government plans to utilise Nigeria’s huge natural gas reserves, with the aim of attracting

Sinopec subsidiary Addax Petroleum seems to have positioned itself as the 'partner of choice' for both Nigeria and Cameroon to explore the Bakassi Peninsula.

While North Africa’s popular revolutions focus the world’s attention on too long silent majorities’ demands for a political voice and good governance, conflicts and crises that beset many sub-Saharan polities fester away from the global media’s prying eyes. Chronically unstable these regions might be, but investors keen to book new oil reserves and other resources often overlook political realities, adding to a volatile mix

With April’s presidential and parliamentary elections looming, and a range of contentious issues pointing to a tighter battle than yet seen in Nigeria’s short democratic history, incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan is still hoping to force through the controversial and much delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the current parliamentary term ends in May.

Petrobras farms into Benin Block 4; WHL completes Seyco acquisition; Exile Resources in Zambia and Nigeria

Onshore blocks in the volatile Niger Delta are the latest Shell assets put on offer as the oil major changes its focus to the offshore, writes David Slater