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The national crisis provoked by the first successful export of crude from a terminal blockaded by former Petroleum Facilities Guard local commander turned federalist political leader Ibrahim Al-Jathran was not the only disaster brewing in Libya during the first weeks of March. While the now-dismissed prime minister Ali Zeidan was trying and failing to prevent the escape of the North Korean-flagged oil tanker Morning Glory with its cargo of crude from As Sidrah, a further even more debilitating blockade was being put in place in Tripoli.

The Millennium Development Authority, which manages Ghana’s $498m compact with the US Millennium Challenge Corporation, is inviting bids to supply and install an upgrade of the Electricity Company of Ghana data centre and communication network. A pre-bid conference will be held on 11 December and bids are due by 15 February 2019. No prequalification is being carried out for the tender. Contact: Procurement agent, Millennium Development Authority, 3rd Floor, Heritage Tower, 6th Avenue, Ridge West, Accra, Ghana. Email: [email protected].

Eni’s new chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, is under preliminary investigation by the Milan prosecutor’s office in relation to the acquisition of Nigerian block OPL 245 in 2011. Descalzi, who replaced Paolo Scaroni in May, was head of Eni’s exploration and production division at the time of the Nigerian transaction. “Eni continues to deny any illegal conduct,” the company said in a statement. “Eni is co-operating with the Milan prosecutor’s office, and is confident that the correctness of its actions will emerge during the course of the investigation.”

Australia’s Pancontinental Oil & Gas and Thailand’s PTTEP are withdrawing from Lamu Basin Block L10A. Pancontinental’s 18.75% interest and PTTEP’s 31.25% will be transferred to operator BG Group, which will then hold 100% of the licence. Pancontinental said it had made its decision “given the project’s cost and potential benefit profile with respect to the company”. Its other African assets, Namibia EL0037 with Tullow Oil, and Kenya Block L6 with FAR and Milio International, are fully funded for the next phase of exploration commitments.

Australia’s ADX Energy has signed a letter of intent with Challenger Limited for the use of the Rig 37 onshore drilling unit to drill the planned Sidi Daher exploration well on the onshore Chorbane permit.

Eni Ghana has signed a cooperation agreement with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (Sada) for the joint evaluation of renewable energy opportunities, including assessing the technical and economic viability of a 20MW-50MW solar PV plant in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NESZ). Sada is an independent statutory corporation mandated to produce a framework for developing the NESZ. Eni has been active in Ghana since 2009, operating the offshore Cape Three Points development licence and more recently the Cape Three Points Block 4 exploration licence.

In this still young century, China has emerged as by far Africa’s biggest economic partner, establishing a vast footprint across the continent at breakneck speed. As many ties with the west have declined – especially following the 2008-09 global financial crisis – Chinese engagement shows no sign of diminishing. This will be underlined when heads of state gather in Beijing for the next Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in September.

Sterling and Wilson has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the 170MW first phase of the Noor solar photovoltaic (PV) scheme. The Noor PV I programme, being developed by a consortium led by Acwa Power, will consist of three projects: Noor Ouarzazate IV, with a capacity of around 70MW, Noor Laayoune (80MW) and Noor Boujdour (20MW). This is the first solar PV phase of the Noor Solar Plan, which has already seen three major concentrated solar power projects in Ouarzazate.

Emerging Power (Gambia) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with state utility National Water and Electricity Company for a 10MW solar power project. Emerging Power (Gambia) is a special purpose vehicle owned by Dubai based Z-One Holdings and French solar developer Tryba Energy. Construction is expected to begin in May, Tryba said. Z-One is a holding company with stakes in Disctech, Energy Tech Mena, Solarpraxis, Ecoprogetti, CPS Mena, CSun-MEA, juwi MEA and ZT Energy and projects in Egypt.

An investigation committee appointed by President Salva Kiir has recommended criminal proceedings against former cabinet affairs minister Deng Alor Kuol for an alleged ‘un-procedural’ transfer of $8m to Kenyan-based company Daffy Investment Group. Alor Kuol was suspended from the government in June, along with former finance minister Kosti Manibe Ngai. Manibe Ngai has since been cleared of any criminal responsibility.

Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and South Africa’s Central Energy Fund have signed an agreement to co-invest in renewable energy projects starting with the 100MW Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Northern Cape Province. The agreement was signed during a visit to Saudi Arabia by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The CSP plant, which will start construction this year, will use central salt receiver technology with 12 hours of thermal storage, allowing the plant to generate during the evening peak demand periods and producing 480,000 MWh/yr.

The Swedish and Ugandan governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 19 June to enhance cooperation and promote trade in the energy sector between the two countries. The MoU will give Ugandan energy utilities access to capacity building and technical support from their Swedish counterparts and promote provision of Swedish solutions to Ugandan utilities backed by Swedish financing via Swedish export credit agencies EKN and SEK.

In August, a 600,000-barrel oil cargo for September lifting was awarded to China International United Petroleum & Chemicals (Unipec). But, according to an oil industry source, Unipec was invoiced to pay not the government of South Sudan, but Chinese arms manufacturer China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco). This arrangement has not been made before, but there is precedent for a direct contract award by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines to Norinco: in August 2013, the government sold a 600,000-barrel oil contract to the company.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has approved a $1m grant to fund feasibility studies for two 17MW solar photovoltaic plants near Pá and Kodéni. The plants are being developed by Denham Capital’s BioTherm Energy and its partner French firm Canopy, via a project company called Société de Production d’Energie Solaire de Kodéni. The studies will be carried out by United States’ Tetra Tech. The projects will sell power to state utility Sonabel under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

The Chinese leadership was shaken when market indices plunged after President Xi Jinping’s team failed to shore up an inexperienced and overheating local equities market. China’s trauma suggests that the last decade’s driver of global prosperity is entering a period of lower, if far from negligible, growth, affecting volumes of trade, and business and political relationships across sub-Saharan Africa. But over-dramatic interpretations of China’s economic outlook are still best avoided.