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The long-awaited sector regulator Autorité Nationale de Régulation de l’Electricité (ANRE) has finally held its first board meeting in Rabat, approving its working procedures and a strategic road map for 2021-25. Details have yet to be published.

Egypt’s oil and gas authorities are looking at ways of increasing investment in mature and ‘brown’ oil fields, which comprise the bulk of current output although many have been in production for decades and some are reaching the end of their life. On 18 October, leading industry figures discussed the challenges of exploiting such fields in a roundtable organised by the Egypt Oil and Gas Technical Committee with minister of petroleum Tarek El-Molla.

The UAE’s Dana Gas said on 25 October it had agreed to sell its onshore Egyptian producing oil and gas assets to IPR Energy Group subsidiary IPR Wastani Petroleum Ltd for up to $236m. The transaction includes Dana’s 100% working interests in the El Manzala, West El Manzala, West El Qantara and North El Salhiya onshore concessions and associated development leases. In H1 2020, the licences produced 30,950 boe/d and contributed $38m to the company’s EBITDA.

The World Bank has announced debarments of India’s Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd and its regional subsidiaries and of China Electric Design and Research Institute (CEDRI). The bank said Kalpataru was sanctioned as a result of fraudulent practices when participating in the Southern African Power Market Project (SAPMP) in Democratic Republic of Congo, which rehabilitated and extended high-voltage power lines, and the Egypt Wind Power Development Project (EWPDP), which included developing transmission infrastructure.

The Ministry of Water and Energy on 6 November invited expressions of interest from consultants to oversee construction of the 420MW Nachtigal hydropower project. Submissions are due by 26 November. The contract is funded by the World Bank Group’s International Development Association.

Intermediary offtaker Africa GreenCo Group has reached its first financial close following investments by InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU). The milestone allowed GreenCo to submit a formal licence application to trade energy to Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board at the end of October. It also allows the company to kickstart preparations for operations in Zambia through GreenCo Power Services.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board on 26 November approved a $120m loan to fund the construction of the 50MW Malagarasi hydropower plant in the Kigoma region of western Tanzania. The project includes a run-of-river hydropower plant, a 54km, 132kV transmission line to connect to the national grid, distribution network expansion including rural electrification and last-mile connections, project management and contract administration support, and compensation and resettlement of affected persons.

Vaalco picks up Sasol stakes Vaalco Energy announced an agreement on 17 November to acquire Sasol Gabon’s stakes in the Etame Marin and DE-8 blocks for up to $50m. The Houston-based company said the transaction would almost double its production and reserves on Etame. 

The Zambian government’s refusal to make a $42.5m interest payment by its 13 November deadline – thereby triggering a sovereign debt default – was hardly a surprise. The investor appetite that persuaded lenders to pile into $3bn-worth of Eurobonds has waned on President Edgar Lungu’s watch, while Covid-19 and falling commodity prices have affected sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the region’s economy will contract by 3% in 2020 and its forecast 3.1% growth in 2021 will be “a smaller expansion than expected in much of the rest of the world”.

Mining companies are struggling to pay the interim power tariff of $0.093/kWh to Zesco, blaming higher taxation and a harsh operating environment. The tariff was introduced in 2018 while a cost of service study was carried out. But some miners are struggling to pay their bills despite a recent surge in world copper prices and want the power price to be set once the study is completed in 2021.

Mini-grid company CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) has published a white paper on its model for developing mini-grids in developing countries and will release term sheets and its template project finance model on 15 February 2021. The unusual move comes as mini-grid developers focused on rural electrification continue to face challenges with profitability and attracting investment.

The 50MW first phase of a coal-fired power plant being built by independent power producer Zimbabwe Zhongxin Electrical Energy (ZZEE) at Deka Bridge Farm in Hwange is due for completion by year-end, a government minister has told African Energy. Energy and power development minister Soda Zhemu said construction of the $50m station started last year.

A French court has dismissed an appeal by two French and four Ugandan NGOs seeking to challenge Total’s handling of the Tilenga development project. The case is the first to be brought under France’s 2017 Corporate Duty of Vigilance law, and the NGOs hope to establish a precedent with wider implications for Total and other international companies.

The UK government has announced that it will no longer provide funding for fossil fuel projects overseas as it prepares to host the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow next year. The UK has been talking up plans for a green economy as the end of the Brexit transition period approaches, and funding from UK Export Finance (UKEF) for oil and gas projects has attracted criticism at a time when Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keen to position the UK as a global leader on climate change.

Siemens Gamesa announced on 4 January that it has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Ethiopian Electric Power to build the 100MW Assela wind farm. The contract includes the delivery of 29 SG 3.4-132 wind turbines, which are expected to come online in Q1 2023. The plant is expected to produce 330MWh/yr of electricity at less than €0.09/kWh ($0.11/kWh).