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Violent protests have again broken out in Conakry over power cuts as the government struggles to fund badly needed repairs to generation and transmission infrastructure. State utility Electricité de Guinée (EDG) said the latest problems were caused by damage to one of Conakry’s main transformer substations, which had led to power cuts in 13, mainly outlying, districts of the capital. “This transformer is a transformer substation. It’s different from the little distribution transformers situated in the districts whose capacity is no greater than 160kVA,” an EDG official explained.

The government is inviting expressions of interest for a contract for a study of the potential for using liquefied natural gas as part of Kenya’s thermal power mix. The study, to be part-financed by the World Bank, forms part of the Energy Sector Recovery Project.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland announced on 19 November that it had signed a contract with BGP for a multi-client 2D seismic survey in the territory’s offshore waters. The programme will be financed through data purchases by international oil companies operating in Somaliland, the ministry said. Seismic operations will be managed and overseen by the ministry, with support from ministries such as the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Environment. A similar survey was acquired by TGS-Nopec in 2008.

Finland’s Wärtsilä announced on 25 April that it had signed a contract to engineer, manufacture and deliver the 130MW Malicounda thermal plant at Mbour. The plant will comprise seven Wärtsilä 50 engines initially running on heavy fuel oil, with the option of converting to gas if it becomes available. Commercial operation is expected in 2020. The project will be owned by Melec PowerGen on a build, own, operate, transfer basis, with Lebanon’s Matelec as engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

The federal government on 26 April approved more appointments at the top of the oil industry, with further changes in the senior managements of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), several of its subsidiaries and the government's Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Bids are due by 15 January from the 17 companies prequalified for the 1,320MW Safi coal-fired independent power project. Office National de l’Electricité (ONE) is keen to push ahead with the 20bn dirham project, despite some local opposition, to meet growing demand.

A major challenges to the status of Somalia’s autonomous Somaliland and Puntland territories is the dispute over the Sool and eastern Sanaag regions, which are believed to be oil-rich.

BP’s decision to lift force majeure on its Libya exploration contracts just days after Shell announced it had suspended its activities reflects the uncertain outlook for both the country’s hydrocarbons prospects and its politics.

The government has given Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd (EPNL) the go-ahead to develop the Usan field on the former OPL 222.

Cyprus-based Karo Mining Holdings will partner Mauritian independent power producer Argentum Energy to roll out a phased 300MW solar power plant in the Chegutu platinum mining area. Karo is developing a large-scale, vertically integrated platinum group metals (PGM) mining complex, which will include a platinum mine, a refinery and a coal mine. The project is being developed in partnership with the government of Zimbabwe under an Investment Project Framework Agreement signed on 22 March 2018.

Given the REIPPP’s reliance on Eskom’s intractable financial situation, focus seems to be shifting towards stimulating the embedded or household solar photovoltaic (PV) market, which the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) estimated could produce as much as 22.5GW by 2030. However, the sector faces a number of challenges. According to South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia) chief executive Moeketsi Thobela, many municipalities are concerned about the loss of revenue a significant uptake of embedded solar PV systems would entail. The regulatory framework lacks clarity, particularly with regard to licensing, and concerns continue about inadequate safety standards relating to the wiring of low-voltage connections.

China Aerospace Construction Group has won a $100m contract to build a 400kV substation and transmission line connecting the planned Konza smart city to the national grid. The project involves a 40km double-circuit power line linking the Konza substation to the recently completed Isinya substation built by National Contracting Company of Saudi Arabia and is funded 85% by the Export–Import Bank of China and 15% by the Kenyan government.

A readjustment of relations between international oil companies (IOCs) and the authorities is evidence of a new, more realistic approach towards upstream development. However, difficulties remain. While a number of international partners have successfully amended or extended their contracts with Alnaft, others have surrendered their interests – continuing a trend of the past several years.The most important two contracts to have been altered in a positive way are those regarding Total and Cepsa’s development of the Timimoun tight gas field in south-west Algeria and BP and Statoil’s production of gas at In Amenas.

There will be opposition from across Nigerian society, but key measures to restructure the hydrocarbons industry and channel windfall oil earnings are among a raft of measures the Jonathan government expects to push through in the coming months, the country’s senior economic minister told Jon Marks in Washington.

In a further step in Dubai-based entrepreneur Abdullah Bin Saeed Al-Thani’s sale of regional assets – signalled by a big divestment in Sudan (AE 135/12) – Austria’s OMV has taken an 80% interest as operator in Tunisia’s offshore Sidi Mansour exploration licence from Thani Emirates Petroleum subsidiary Thani Tunisia Sidi Mansour.