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African Petroleum’s sister company International Petroleum has received cabinet approval for four production sharing contracts for the Manga 1, Manga 2, Aborak and Ténéré Ouest blocks in south-east Niger.

Oil and gas explorer Africa New Energies (ANE) is preparing to begin fundraising for a ten-well drilling project onshore Namibia through the issuance of asset-backed crypto-tokens. The company has owned two onshore blocks totalling 22,000km2 in Namibia through its subsidiary Alumni Exploration East Namibia Ltd since December 2012, when the company was founded by South Africans Steven Larkin and Brendon Raw. ANE has been using unconventional exploration techniques based on machine learning to identify drilling sites, in theory at a fraction of the cost of conventional 2D and 3D seismic programmes.

According to the latest lifting programme, published by the South Sudan Ministry of Petroleum in early December, a total of 4.6m barrels will be lifted from Port Sudan in January, equivalent to average production of 148,000 b/d. This compares favourably with the 4.4m barrels programmed for lifting in December (an average production of 142,000 b/d) and 4.2m barrels in November (an average of 140,000 b/d). The volume for lifting matches that of October, when it was also 4.6m barrels, or 148,000 b/d.

US independent Anadarko Petroleum has suspended its operations in Côte d’Ivoire as fighting intensifies between supporters of the country’s two rival presidents, but is accelerating its activities in West Africa as a whole

Concentrix Solar joins Desertec; BHP Billiton revises Mozal contract, SA talks go on; Harsco announces Gibe III dam contract

India’s Essar Oil, which owns 50% of Kenya’s Mombasa refinery, has offered to build Uganda’s planned refinery. “There has been a big oil find in Uganda. To process it, they

Sterling Energy has sold its producing US assets for $90m, enabling it to clear its debt. The UK-based company plans to focus on higher impact opportunities in Africa and the Middle East,

The government of Equatorial Guinea has signed an agreement with Dubai-based Arabian Energy DMCC to work together on the Bioko Oil Terminal. The two sides agreed to collaborate on the development, implementation, construction and financing of the $500m project to develop West Africa’s largest oil and petroleum products storage facility. Other partners in the project include South Africa’s SacOil, Nigeria’s Taleveras Exploration and Production, trader Gunvor Group and South Africa’s Strategic Fuel Fund Association, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the government in 2015.

The Brazzaville government has received some reward for the closure in 2008 of Congolaise de Trading (Cotrade), the controversial marketing arm of parastatal Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) that was chaired by the president’s son, Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso. Cotrade’s closure came after pressure from the International Monetary Fund and, on 28 January, the World Bank and IMF announced an agreement that will allow Republic of Congo to reduce its external debt by $1.9bn and benefit from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

American Capital Energy & Infrastructure (ACEI), part of publicly traded private equity company American Capital Ltd, has announced that it will invest €76m ($85m) in a project to develop a 151.8MW wind farm in Senegal. The wind farm will be located in Taiba Ndiaye, around 75km north-east of Dakar, and will cost an estimated €305m. French wind and solar power developer Sarreole will retain a minority stake. The balance of the funding is anticipated from senior and mezzanine lenders. ACEI director of Africa investments Lisa Pinsley told African Energy the project aimed to reach financial close towards the end of the year.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board on 30 November approved a R3bn ($216m) senior loan for the 100MW Redstone plant at the Humansrus solar park in the Northern Cape, which is being developed by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power. The plant will use a molten salt central tower with around 12 hours or 1.2GWh of storage capacity. SolarReserve will supply the core technology for the project, including its ThermaVault molten salt solar thermal system.

Wide-ranging reform of Angola’s power sector is making progress, but with the economy heavily dependent on oil revenues, investment plans could be significantly slowed. Angola-watchers suggest the effects on the domestic economy of sharply lower global oil prices, coupled with the continued uncertainty over veteran President José Eduardo dos Santos’ succession plans, may create a ‘perfect storm’ that could hasten the long-awaited regime change.

CHAD: Chinese funding deals signed for N’djamena refinery; ANGOLA: KBR wins new contract for Sonaref technology; ZAMBIA: Indeni to seek new partner

Enel Green Power has started production from the 66MW Tom Burke solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Limpopo province. The plant was awarded in the third round of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme, and brings Enel’s installed capacity in South Africa to nearly 160MW.

After a period of doubt over its future following problems in conflict-hit markets, including Libya, and difficulties repaying debt, London Stock Exchange-listed APR Energy’s shareholders have accepted an investor consortium’s offer to acquire the emergency power provider. The group of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings and US firms Acon Equity Management and Albright Capital Management plan to take Florida-based APR private; the buyers have committed $200m-plus equity to reduce debt and increase working capital.