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Construction of the 132kV Kandadji-Niamey transmission line has official started. Once completed, the line will evacuate 130MW from the Kandadji hydroelectric power (HEP) plant.

London AIM-listed Savannah Energy has told African Energy that it hopes to start production from its Amdigh-1 well in the Agadem Rift Basin (ARB) in 2023.

What will be Africa’s longest oil pipeline is now 30% complete and forecast to increase landlocked Niger’s oil exports tenfold in a ‘transformative’ Chinese-owned project that forms part of Beijing’s long-term play in the region. Other actors are looking to ramp up production using the infrastructure, with Niger – on the frontline of battle against jihadism in the Sahel – also being courted by the West.

Damming at the 130MW Kandadji hydroelectric power (HEP) project has been completed. The plant, Niger's first HEP,  is expected online in 2026.

Increased jihadist activity has displaced populations and affected business across the region, as armed groups seek to generate income by attacking mines and other revenue generators. The failure of the Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba regime in Burkina Faso to protect artisanal gold miners in the north was one of many security concerns that served as a pretext for his overthrow; mines are being attacked by the same insurgent groups in Mali.

The Sahel region’s multi-faceted crises have deepened further with junior officers replacing their seniors in Burkina Faso’s latest coup d’état, a move which now threatens sanctions and other retaliation from Ecowas states, increases diplomatic tensions with western governments – while Russia helps to fan the flames – and undermines business initiatives and efforts to make economies more sustainable. African Energy analyses the latest developments in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Mali, along with their G5 Sahel partner Niger and other big stakeholders in the region.

Canadian mining firm Global Atomic has signed an agreement with Enernet Global to build a hybrid power plant at the Dasa uranium project in Niger. The plant will be built by Enernet under a build-own-operate model.

WinEnerji Niger general manager Ferhat Isik told African Energy that logistical problems mean the completion of the 23MW Zinder heavy fuel oil (HFO) plant has been delayed.

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) secretary-general Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo fell victim to a heart attack in his native Nigeria on 5 July, aged 63, shortly before he was due to leave the post he had held with some skill and grace since August 2016.

Brave efforts are being made to continue with business as usual in the Sahel, despite an apparently never-ending security crisis, which has been further aggravated by a split in the western-backed G5 Sahel (G5S) alliance of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, as the military-led regime in Bamako seeks to distance itself from France and its allies.

London AIM-listed Savannah Energy has joined the trend for independent oil companies (IOCs) to follow their larger peers’ move into renewable energy (RE), with the signing of a memorandum of understanding for a 250MW wind project in Niger. It is understood the project that will emerge is likely to be much smaller than the announced amount.

Solar developments and associated projects are proceeding in Niger, where on 11 February President Mohamed Bazoum’s government announced the six firms selected as prequalified bidders (from 14 candidates) for the 50MWac Gorou Banda solar PV project.

Political and security conditions may be acutely difficult in the G5 Sahel countries, but a new era beckons for solar projects in the region, symbolised by AfDB approval of a plan to develop 500MW of PV capacity. Sector insiders believe that short-term problems such as rising risk premiums may be offset by the positive medium-to-long-term prospects for the rollout of solar PV across the Sahel, writes Marc Howard

The World Bank Group is seeking expressions of interest (EoIs) from consultants to provide an analysis of the market readiness for private sector participation in solar hybrid mini-grids in Niger.

The African Development Bank (AfDB)-led Desert-to-Power (DtP) initiative is gathering momentum with a $150m investment by the Green Climate Fund. The investment is expected to be followed by further commitments from the AfDB to take the Desert to Power G5 Financing Facility – which covers Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – to $379.6m, to support projects across the supply chain.