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Like its rival ExxonMobil, the second-largest US oil company Chevron Corporation intends to be a leader in advancing a lower carbon future. To achieve its 2030 growth targets, which include growing natural gas production to 40,000m Btu/d, raising renewable fuels production capacity to 100,000 b/d and increasing hydrogen production to 150,000 t/y, Chevron expects to invest more than $10bn between now and 2028.

A strategy paper issued by TotalEnergies in Q3 2021 put meat on the French major’s planned reinvention, in which renewables output will rise threefold by 2030. It will spend up to $15bn in the next three years alone, but this is not all wind and solar; gas is to absorb a large slice of that spend. Energy production will rise by 30% by 2030, with growth coming half from electricity – essentially RE – and half from LNG. Hydrocarbons cash flow will be used to fund the transition.

South African developer SolarSaver has commissioned 2.2MWp of solar PV capacity for NovaNam’s hake processing facilities at Lüderitz and Walvis Bay. The 13,000 m2 of panels installed across both plants include a 3,132 m2 array on wooden mounting structures in Lüderitz.

The International Organisation for Migration’s Juba office in Northern Bari has invited bidders to submit a tender for the design, supply and installation of a 0.4MWp roof-mounted solar PV system.

The Zambian government has shelved a plan to reintroduce taxes on imported fuel, in an effort to keep prices lower. In December, fuel prices increased after the government removed subsidies on petroleum products in an effort to better reflect market prices. Zambia has migrated to a monthly pricing cycle that makes local pump prices more responsive to shifts in international oil prices and foreign currency exchange rates.

The government is continuing direct negotiations for 33 offshore blocks (LB-1 to LB-33) in the Harper and Liberia basins, in a process open until end-May.

Australian independent FAR said it had identified further exploration opportunities in offshore blocks A2 and A5 and had high-graded three of the four mapped prospects for potential drilling.

ASX-listed Invictus Energy has lined up Baker Hughes and Exalo to work on a planned two-well drilling campaign on the Cabora Bassa project. The Australian indie has raised $8m in recent months to fund the programme, with a potential farm-in partner waiting in the wings.

TotalEnergies confirmed on 24 February a “significant” discovery of light oil with associated gas on the Venus prospect, located in Block 2913B in Namibia’s Orange Basin. It comes soon after a Shell-led consortium announced another find in the nearby PEL 39 licence.

Confusion continues to surround the future of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), following a forced change of management in December amid allegations of shareholder disputes and overdue bank debts. In recent days, a court has ordered those involved to explore the option of an out-of-court settlement, but it is uncertain if a deal can be reached by the court-mandated deadline of late April. 

Libya is sinking deeper into a state of extreme political uncertainty as Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dabaiba and his Government of National Unity (GNU) cling to power in defiance of attempts by other state institutions to appoint a new administration. With every day that Dabaiba holds on, the more likely it becomes he will continue in office, in some form at least. The pressure is therefore on Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashaga to not only appoint but also to install his government in Tripoli as soon as possible.

TotalEnergies EP Gabon has reported a sharp fall in its share of oil production in 2021, with an 11% year-on-year decline to 22,900 b/d.

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has awarded grants for 11 solar PV mini-grids. Technical and financial support is being provided by the European Union and German government through the Nigerian Energy Support Programme.

Tlou Energy has said it has now obtained all the required approvals to develop its Lesedi coalbed methane gas-to-power power project. The first phase involves development of 10MW for sale to Botswana Power Corporation (BPC).

The government made a significant step towards establishing the laws and regulations to allow the new transmission system operator (TSO) at Eskom to work, when in February it published the 2nd Amendment Bill for the Electricity Regulation Act. Views on the draft bill, which is currently subject to 30 days public comment, are starting to emerge as the industry absorbs its contents.