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Mini-grid developer PowerGen Renewable Energy has completed a series B investment round, almost three years after its first round. Investors include Shell New Energies, Omidyar Network, Acumen, the Renewable Energy Performance Platform, EDFI ElectriFI, Sumitomo Corporation, DOB Equity, and Micro-Grid Catalytic Capital Partners.

Eskom Holdings has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the proposed conversion of the existing open-cycle gas turbines at the Ankerlig and Gourikwa peaking power stations in Western Cape Province to combined-cycle operation. The 1,327MW Ankerlig power station at Atlantis near Cape Town and the 740MW Gourikwa power station at Mossel Bay near the PetroSA refinery are currently operating on diesel fuel.

Kosmos Energy is still seeking farm-in partners for the Boujdour Block, offshore the disputed Western Sahara.

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.

Tunis-based power engineering group Tragedel has contracted UK-based Clarke Energy to supply four 2.5MW heavy-duty diesel generators for a 10MW plant in Bangui. The four Kohler-SDMO KD3500-F gensets will provide baseload or peaking power to Energie Centrafricaine, Clarke Energy said on 29 November.

The West African Development Bank (Boad) and Senelec have signed a CFA25bn ($40m) loan agreement for the partial funding of electric power distribution grid strengthening and redevelopment in the Dakar, Thiès, Kaolack, Fatick, Saint-Louis and Tambacounda areas. The loan represents 82.3% of the total project cost and will improve power supply through power distribution grid automation, removal of radial lines and power grid strengthening.

Luxembourg-based Eurasian Resources Group has concluded power supply arrangements for its Frontier copper mine on the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Eurasian announced on 26 November that a contract had been signed with Société Nationale d’Electricité (Snel), DRC commercial bank Rawbank and Zambia’s Zesco, which will supply 41MW. Frontier is an open-cast mine with facilities to produce copper sulphide concentrate, treating over 10m t/yr of copper sulphide ore.

UK-based BBOXX has secured a $4m local currency loan from government-owned Union Togolaise de Banque (UTB) to fund the first phase of the company’s activities in Togo. The Togolese government aims to increase access to electricity from 36% in 2016 to 60% in 2022 under its Accelerated Growth and Employment Strategy. In rural areas, a government study identified 300,000 households that cannot economically be connected to the grid but which are suitable for solar home systems.

Circle Oil’s Bou Argoub-1 (BAB-1) well on the Grombalia permit failed to find commercial hydrocarbons and will be plugged and abandoned. The exploration well in the South West Belli area of the permit, near the Belli, El Manzah and Beni Khaled fields, started drilling on 30 October.

The gas pooling arrangements that made possible the development of an LNG project in Angola could also be suitable for developing Libyan LNG trains, according to Total vice president for North Africa Jean-François Arrighi de Casanova

The unravelling of BP’s assets has begun, with the beleaguered British major selling off a big package of assets to raise cash to pay for cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico. Questions are being asked about the future of other assets, and no operation will receive more scrutiny than BP’s Libya exploration play, write John Hamilton and Thalia Griffiths

Demonstrations that began in mid-October against the rising cost of electricity have gained momentum in Tangier, where several thousand protesters gathered in the northern coastal city’s Place des Nations. Although Tangier mayor Bachir Abdellaoui has promised that bills issued since July will be “revised” and that there will be no more abrupt price rises, there seems little sign of protests ending. Some 1.5m bills issued since the summer need revision; meanwhile, default notices have been suspended. Protesters’ main chant is ‘Amendis dégage’ (Amendis out), a reference to the Veolia Environnement subsidiary that runs electricity, water and sewerage services in the Tangier-Tetouan area.

Power distributor Umeme plans a minority listing of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange and Nairobi Securities Exchange this year, subject to approval from market regulators. The company is 100% owned by emerging markets private equity firm Actis. Reuters said some 20% was expected to be floated

Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning on 18 May announced that it had signed a bilateral agreement with the German government for German development bank KfW to provide a €15m grant for the 147MW Ruzizi III hydropower project. The $650m project is being developed by the Agha Khan’s Industrial Promotion Services and US developer Sithe Global, under a contract awarded in 2014, and will supply Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda with 49MW each.

Vitol SA has been awarded the contract to be the exclusive marketer of Tullow Oil’s share of production from the Jubilee field