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Cameroon is looking to a potential single train LNG project if it can gather sufficient natural gas in a new national system, officials told African Energy.

As it seeks a greater yield from its gas resources, Equatorial Guinea has succeeded in its long-running efforts to secure a better deal from one of its major partners, BG Group, which is buying all the gas from EGLNG Train One

Eni will import less gas from Algeria this year and next as part of an ongoing renegotiation of its long-term agreement with Sonatrach. On 28 May, Eni said the two companies “had agreed on a package solution for 2013 and 2014 within the framework of their commercial discussions under the existing gas contract” and that they would “reduce certain quantities of the contractual gas volumes delivered into Italy”. According to Eni’s 2012 annual report, the company imported 14.45bcm of gas from Algeria in 2012 via pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments.

Royal Dutch Shell and BP have offered the South African government a stake in the jointly owned Sapref refinery in Durban, according to reports from Johannesburg.

The United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) has lifted sanctions on National Oil Corporation (NOC)'s Benghazi-based subsidiary Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco). The move is important because Agoco was included in early Ofac and other sanctions lists even though it had declared itself independent of its parent in Tripoli and was remaking itself

Kenya’s leading sugar producer is looking to join in the country’s success in diversifying its energy sources by expanding into ethanol production as well as power generation, writes Kimemia Mugo

First fuel flowed through Transnet’s new 555km multi-product pipeline, running from the Port of Durban to Jameson Park, south of Johannesburg, on 11 January

Sonatrach’s ability to supply enough gas to meet its international contracts continues to be the subject of speculation in the international markets. Sales to southern Europe have fallen sharply in recent years, mainly as a result of mutually agreed reductions in offtake. So the extent to which production bottlenecks may create greater problems for Algeria’s clients in Italy, Spain and elsewhere in Europe continues to be a matter of conjecture. However, what is certain is that pipeline exports are relatively far down Algeria’s list of priorities for gas usage. The current focus for concern over supplies is Spain. A financial source warned African Energy in early June that “infrastructure issues and local demand” might “start to impact gas exports from Algeria into Spain quite meaningfully”.

Wärtsilä has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a 48MW gas power plant supplying Bua Group’s Sokoto cement plant in northern Nigeria. The plant will run primarily on liquefied natural gas (LNG) with low pour fuel oil as a back-up. Wärtsilä has been targeting the thermal market in Africa with its integrated gas power and LNG regasification technology in recent years.The power plant will supply a new cement line at the Sokoto facility using five Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines, complementing two heavy fuel oil (HFO) plants already operating at the site, which is entirely off-grid.

Tullow Oil has indicated it could bring in more partners to develop the planned pipeline and refinery components of its Ugandan oil project.

London-based Helios Investment Partners has raised more than $1bn for its third Africa-focused fund, making it the largest fund dedicated to African private equity. More than 60% of the capital comes from existing investors, and Helios said the investor base included sovereign wealth funds, corporate and public pension funds, endowments and foundations, funds of funds, family offices and development finance institutions across the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. Helios held the previous record for the biggest private equity fund in Africa, having raised $908m in 2011.

Winfield Resources has approached the government with a proposal to build, own and operate a 30,000 b/d refinery in Nouakchott. The Vancouver-based petroleum company said the government had invited it to make detailed proposals, and it had engaged Surrey-based KBC Process Technology to provide consulting services and technical support.

The Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy has announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gunvor Group, Nigeria’s Taleveras Group and South Africa’s Strategic Fuel Fund to expand its plans for a crude oil and petroleum products storage tank farm on Bioko Island. In an expansion of the previous project plan, the terminal will incorporate a significant amount of crude oil storage space, as well as storage for petroleum products. The MoU establishes the terms of co-operation between the ministry and the three companies.

Fuel marketer and distributor Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) has signed a co-operation agreement with the Ghana Navy for the use of berthing facilities at Sekondi naval base for its bunkering operations

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on 16 July shut down the 624MW Afam VI power station due to a shortage of gas supplies caused by the closure of the Trans Nigerian Pipeline (TNP), the company announced in a statement. The TNP, also owned by Shell, was closed after a number of leakages caused by oil thefts, the most recent being a leakage at Owokiri on 11 July where a 6inch crude theft valve was discovered on the facility. Shell has repaired the leak and is “working to remove other crude theft points that were discovered in the process”, corporate media relations manager Tony Okonedo said in a statement.