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Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has been busy shedding assets elsewhere in Africa, but the Malaysian national oil company has expanded its footprint in Angola, via its Petronas Angola E&P subsidiary.

Toufik Hakkar was removed from his position as president director-general (PDG) of Sonatrach on 2 October, as President Abdelmadjid Tebboune appointed yet another official who has had decades of jobs in and around the national oil company, Rachid Hachichi, for a second stint in the job. 

Cairo-headquartered African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced on 2 October it had extended a $300m loan to Trident OGX Congo.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on 4 October it had reached an agreement with Côte d’Ivoire (CdI) to release a further $500m in financial support, following a review of its economic reform programme. 

Malagasy conglomerate Groupe Filatex has confirmed that the 30MW Mandroseza heavy fuel oil (HFO)-fired plant has resumed operations following rehabilitation work. Construction of solar PV capacity is also under way at the complex.

Graphite miner and processor Syrah Resources said on 11 October that it had commissioned the solar PV plant at its Balama mine in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. The solar plus storage unit is expected to displace some 30% of diesel usage at the pre-existing diesel-fired plant.

Momentum continues to build for the two large export-oriented liquefied natural gas projects on Mozambique’s Afungi peninsula. TotalEnergies has confirmed longstanding speculation that work will resume at Mozambique LNG this year, while ExxonMobil is aiming for a final investment decision on its Rovuma project in 2025 – underpinned by the continuing role of foreign security forces in Cabo Delgado, writes Marc Howard.

Seven plaintiffs have filed a criminal complaint with Paris prosecutors against TotalEnergies, accusing the French major of negligence and indirect manslaughter during the March 2021 attack on Palma by Islamist insurgents.

A central element in Ghana’s debt restructuring is the money owed to domestic independent power producers (IPPs). Industry group the Independent Power Generators, Ghana (IPGG) has been working to hammer out the details of a deal to resolve the IPPs’ crisis over lack of payments by state entities and the haircut on their outstandings demanded by the government following an interim agreement in June.

Mpho Makwana will leave Eskom at the end of October, having served for only slightly over a year as chair of the state utility’s board of directors, with further divisions among decision-makers apparent in the protracted search for a new group chief executive officer (GCEO).

Sturdee Energy’s Bobonong and Shakawe solar PV plants have started commercial operations. The plants are among Botswana’s first renewable energy projects

State utility NamPower has issued a procurement notice for renewable energy consultancy services, under the Namibia Renewable Energy Scale Up Support Project (NRESUSP). The work is divided into two parts.

The World Bank has agreed to extend $1bn to South Africa to help the government’s energy security goals and the transition to a low carbon economy. The development policy loan is expected to help with restructuring of the power sector through the unbundling of state-owned power utility Eskom, as well as encouraging private investment in renewable energy.

US-based developer Husk Power Systems has secured funds from investors, which it will use to scale up its solar mini-grid developments in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Husk – which was established in 2008 – claimed its new Series D funding was “the largest-ever equity raise in the mini-grid industry”.

The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) will soon launch a tender for a 3GW, 1,600km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line to take power from renewable energy plants in Dakhla, in the disputed Sahara region, up to Kenitra and Tangier in the north.