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Wood Group subsidiary SgurrEnergy has won funding from the Scottish government to design and implement a hydroelectric scheme to supply renewable energy to an off-grid community without a reliable source of power. The Glasgow-based renewable energy consultancy will manage the design and installation of a 100kW run-of-river scheme in Mulanje, on the border with Mozambique in southern Malawi, as well as a community training programme for the operation and maintenance of the plant. The project will reduce the use of costly diesel generators firing on imported fuel and will enable the local medical clinic to use refrigerators and sterilisers and administer medical care after sunset.

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.

ANGOLA: Clov contract for FMC; ANGOLA: Cabinda appraisal well successful; ANGOLA: West Gemini drilling for Total; MAURITANIA: Dana spuds well on Cormoran gas prospect; MOROCCO: Tarfaya oil shale project progresses; MOZAMBIQUE: Sasol signs for onshore gas block; NIGERIA: Hardy sells up to focus on India; NIGERIA/SAO TOME: JDZ partners discuss second phase; SEYCHELLES: Seismic deal for EEZ; TANZANIA: M&P drills on Kianika; TUNISIA: Lambouka well

Stepping up exploration activity following the settlement of its tax dispute with the government, Tullow Oil has announced two oil strikes with the Jobi-East-1 and Mpyo-3 wells in Exploration Area 1.

Rehabilitation work at hydroelectric power stations has added 507MW to the national grid, bringing total generation to 2,700MW, according to a statement by Power Minister Lanre Babalola.

British Virgin Islands-registered Ncondezi Energy Ltd has signed a joint development agreement with China’s Shanghai Electric Power Company Ltd (SEP) for the 300MW Ncondezi coal power project in Tete province. SEP will invest up to $25.5m to cover development costs to financial close in return for a 60% equity stake in the project’s special purpose vehicle Ncondezi Power Company. Ncondezi Energy will retain the remaining 40%.

Rwanda has taken a significant step towards its target of adding 20MW of solar power by 2017, signing a memorandum of agreement with the Goldsol II consortium for the $30m construction and operation of a 10MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in Kayonza. The consortium signed the agreement following a competitive tender in which Goldsol II offered a tariff of RW120 ($0.18)/kWh. A feasibility study will now be conducted, which will require approval by the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority before a power purchase agreement can be signed and construction can begin. Electricity production is expected to start in 21 months.

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.

Tanzania plans onshore and offshore bid rounds this year, offering acreage beyond existing deep-water blocks. The fourth offshore round, which Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) hopes to launch at the AAPG conference in Houston in April,

Eskom faces another electricity supply crunch in 2012-13; A joint venture between Firestone Energy and Sekoko Coal has signed a memorandum of understanding with state utility Eskom; South Sudan is looking to import 50-100MW from Ethiopia in “two or three years”; South Africa’s Conlog (Pty) Ltd has won a E291,487 ($388,000) contract for meters and other equipment; Documents for a treaty covering the financing, construction, operation and development of electricity interconnections linking Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were signed during a meeting of energy ministers on 5 March; Senior executives are under pressure at state utility Zesa Holdings after awarding themselves increases in their allowances of up to 75%, backdated to 2009

Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy plans to develop the offshore SNE-1 discovery through a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with potential to integrate nearby discoveries. Partner FAR said a three-well programme was planned to start in Q4 this year to evaluate the 2014 SNE-1 and FAN-1 discoveries. The work programme includes two wells to appraise the SNE-1 discovery and one exploration well likely to assess a shelf prospect.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has decided against lowering Eskom’s BBB- credit rating for the time being, but remains concerned about risks associated with the government rescue programme and the increasing costs and tight generation margin in the South African power sector. The ratings agency said the government support plan would “support Eskom’s liquidity and stabilise its credit metrics over the near term”. However, S&P’s base case assumes an annual tariff increase of 12% until 2018, which would be unpalatable to many South African consumers and lobby groups.

US independent Apache Corporation has reported further drilling success in the Western Desert, where it is the leading producer. A production test of the Cretaceous Alam El Buieb sand in the Tayim South 1-X well in the Faghur Basin flowed

Reforming the oil and gas sector to attract investment and increase production has been a central priority of João Lourenço’s presidency. State oil and gas firm Sonangol boosted its earnings in 2018, fired by higher oil and gas export prices but serious problems face the company as it seeks to reverse production declines from maturing offshore assets.Sonangol’s 2018 annual report, published on 19 July, said total pre-tax earnings for the year accelerated to Kz1.1trn ($3.18bn), a 76% increase from the Kz625.2bn posted in 2017.

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.