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Many individual elements of a plan to fix Egypt’s energy problems are now coming into focus – including a politically controversial proposal to import gas from Israel. But important details are still missing, not least the commercial terms for imports and how these will relate to the terms under which domestic producers will sell their gas. It is also far from certain that the administration of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has a coherent plan to address fundamental economic concerns, such as the need to abolish subsidies, which are currently being alleviated by massive injections of Gulf finance.

Statoil and Exxon Mobil announced a gas discovery on 14 October with the Giligiliani-1 exploration well on Block 2. Operator Statoil said the discovery of an additional 1.2tcf of natural gas in place in the well brought total in-place volumes up to approximately 21tcf in the block. The discovery was made in Upper Cretaceous sandstones along the western side of Block 2 at a 2,500-metre water depth. “This discovery has proven the gas play extends into the western part of Block 2, which opens additional prospects.

While minister of mines and hydrocarbons Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima is clearly in a hurry to bring more oil and gas resources into production and to raise the profile of his country within the global hydrocarbons industry, he is also holding out for the best deals he can get. Market speculation is focused on a prospective deal for London-based independent Trident Energy – which is led by former Perenco executives and describes itself as an expert in reviving mid-life oil and gas assets – to take over ExxonMobil’s Zafiro oil and gas field, which started production in 1996.

The much-anticipated national LNG development plan is going ahead with a strengthened advisory team and revised targets, working to new bid deadlines, which take account of the ambitious integrated project’s scale and follow officials’ analysis of input from potential investors. Some of the heads of state who have lobbied King Mohammed VI, and among the 100-plus potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers who have lined up to see Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment senior adviser Abdellaziz El Gamah, may find it worth the wait: the long-term quantity of gas required at the new Jorf Lasfar terminal is now expected to be 10bcm/yr, double the original forecast.

Over the past several years, power cuts have become a standard feature of Egyptian summers. This year, nation-wide blackouts started in mid-March, indicating the country may be heading towards one of the most difficult peak demand seasons ever. Interim prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab has demanded that Egyptian Electricity Holding Company accelerate the completion of an additional 2,400MW of generation capacity, to bring it on stream by June instead of August. The government has also returned to plans that it rejected last year to commission a temporary floating regasification unit to allow it to import liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Finance minister Calle Schlettwein is caught between debt concerns and political pressures as he argues the case against developing the Kudu gas field in a debate that has pitted the ruling Swapo party’s patronage networks against financial prudence.Following mines and energy minister Obeth Kandjoze’s decision in June to cancel the Xaris standby power plant as a result of a doubling in the price tag, President Hage Geingob tasked Schlettwein to find a solution to a projected 250MW shortfall in electricity supply in 2016.

New Eskom interim CEO Brian Molefe has said that his short and medium term aims were to end load shedding and ensure efficiency and security of coal power supply, but that “in the medium to long term [our priority is] to increase alternative sources of energy, to systematically reduce our reliance on coal over a period of time”. His statement, taken with energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson’s announcement of “expanded and accelerated” independent power producer (IPP) procurement programmes, is widely viewed as signalling government recognition that Eskom will not provide new generation capacity within a timeframe or at a cost that can be justified in light of the success of the renewable energy IPP procurement (REIPPP) programme.

Eni on 20 July announced a gas discovery on the Nooros exploration prospect in the Abu Madi West licence in the Nile Delta. The Italian company said the Nidoco NW2 Dir NFW well was drilled to a total depth of 3,600 metres and encountered a 60-metre gas-bearing sandstone interval of Messianian age. The discovery is estimated to contain 15bcm of gas in place, with associated condensates. The new discovery will be put into production in two months’ time through a tie-in to the Abu Madi gas treatment plant, 25km to the south-east.

Egypt-focused SDX Energy has signed non-binding heads of terms with Circle Oil to acquire the troubled company’s Egypt and Morocco assets. The agreement, announced on 11 January, has a 30-day exclusivity period. “Circle’s assets present an attractive opportunity to add material production and reserves at an attractive price,” SDX chief executive Paul Welch said in a statement. Circle has the producing Sebou permit and the Lalla Mimouna permit in Morocco, and the Al Amir and Geyad permits in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez, but has run into substantial financial difficulties due to payment arrears built up by Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

Sound Energy announced on 8 June that it had submitted a development application to the Ministry of Energy for the Tendrara gas discovery in eastern Morocco. The application for the Phase 1 development of Tendrara covers the technical and commercial aspects of the field development plan and the outline of the development area. Sound expects the discovery to produce some 60mcf/d of natural gas, to be produced through a future 120km spur to the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME), which runs from Algeria’s Hassi R’Mel fields to Spain.

Foxtrot International has completed a four-year, $850m field development programme, significantly raising output from Block CI-27. Oslo-listed RAK Petroleum said two new gas fields, Marlin and Manta, have been brought on stream following the installation of a four-legged, manned platform and related processing and pipeline facilities and the drilling of one exploration and seven production wells. Gas production from CI-27 climbed to an average of 170mcf/d in August 2016, constituting more than three-quarters of Côte d’Ivoire’s total. Production of oil and condensates from the block averaged 3,000 b/d.

The enormous roster of energy sector investment projects announced at the Egypt Economic Development Conference at Sharm El-Sheikh in mid-March includes a number of firm projects to be funded by the government, and a larger number of independent power projects (IPPs) in gas, coal and renewables, some of which represent firm commitments and others which are much less likely to proceed. The overwhelming question is how the promised developments will be paid for alongside even more ambitious plans for the construction of a new $45bn capital city east of Cairo.

The government signed a partnership agreement on 4 October creating a consortium headed by France’s Total to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal. “The arrival of LNG in Côte d’Ivoire opens a new era in the production of electricity,” energy minister Adama Toungara said at a signing ceremony in the commercial capital Abidjan. The project aims to develop, build and operate a floating storage and regasification unit with initial capacity of 100mcf that would gradually be brought up to 500mcf, according to an energy ministry statement. The ministry estimated the cost at $200m.

Somalia launched an offshore licensing round on 7 February, offering 15 blocks in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Galmudug, Hirshabelle, South West and Jubaland states. Its promoters hope that similar geological structures to those harbouring gas offshore Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya are oil-bearing offshore Somalia. The event, which was live-streamed by Somali TV, aimed to underline to Somalis back home and in the diaspora the government’s commitment to transparency in exploring its oil and gas potential.

The Algerian authorities have continued to sign new deals in the upstream and downstream sectors while advancing their more controversial agenda of exploiting shale resources despite public opposition. Preparations are building for a policy announcement in December which could open the way to further developments next year. On 7 October, Sonatrach, Total and Repsol completed their agreements to jointly develop the Erg Issouane gas field and market the gas. The field is located on the TFT Sud permit south of the partners’ existing Tin Fouyé Tabenkort (TFT) field.