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The East Delta Electricity Production Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, has issued tenders for the supply of equipment for the conversion of the 1GW El Shabab power plant near Ismailia from open cycle to combined cycle gas turbine technology.

BP has given contracts to McDermott International and Baker Hughes (BHGE) for subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (Surf) and subsea production system equipment for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim natural gas project offshore Mauritania and Senegal. The companies are working together to realise efficiencies for the project, which reached a final investment decision in December.The initial subsea infrastructure will connect the first four of 12 wells consolidated through production pipelines leading to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Norway’s BW Offshore has formalised an agreement to take a 56% stake in the Kudu licence and develop the project to a final investment decision (FID) expected in Q4 2017. Past operators, including Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell, have failed to develop the gas field, but BW says falling development and contractor costs now make the project more feasible. However, questions remain over the size of the reserves, and the development’s ability to compete with low-cost US shale gas imports.

With meetings and signings planned across London, several participants at the Africa Investment Exchange: Energy (AIX) meeting on 24-25 November had their eyes on the long-awaited financial close of the Azura-Edo independent power project (IPP). Azura’s success is crucial for the credibility of Nigeria’s efforts to bring private investment into the electricity supply industry. Azura is seen as a bellwether for the wider finance and developer communities, who are looking to a marked increase in privately financed IPPs and associated projects across the continent, including in the distribution sector, whose revenues are essential to underwrite the new generation companies.

The Ministry of Energy has lined up the Kipevu 3 and Rabai power plants for conversion to gas and is in talks with Finland’s Wärtsilä to carry out the work. Energy principal secretary Joseph Njoroge told African Energy that only plants on Kenya’s coast that are not nearing the end of their lifespans would be considered for conversion.

As explorers cut back on Africa spending, Kosmos Energy has agreed with Royal Dutch Shell to sell its stakes in exploration blocks in São Tomé & Príncipe, Namibia, South Africa and Suriname for about $100m, plus future contingent payments of up to $100m.

Investors, contractors and financiers have been reassessing southern Africa’s potential to emerge as a natural gas producer, supply hub and importer of molecules and electrons for gas-to-power (GTP) schemes. Mozambique’s emergence as an LNG exporter gives it potential to develop new gas-based industry and infrastructure. Developments in southern Mozambique further suggest it could drive a wider regional industry, with more gas exported by pipeline.

Sasol announced on 21 December that it had signed a sale securities purchase agreement with Azura Power Limited for its 49% shareholding in the 175MW Central Termica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG) plant. Azura will pay approximately $145m, and the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and the waiver of pre-emption rights held by utility Electricidade de Moçambique, Sasol said.

General Electric (GE) will supply power generation equipment to the 300MW West African Energy combined-cycle plant in Cap des Biches, Dakar, the company announced on 28 January.

Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) has given New Age (African Global Energy) Ltd formal approval to apply for a new exploitation agreement for the Etinde licence. This would replace the existing Etinde exploitation agreement (EEA) which came into force by presidential decree in January 2015 and had been due to expire. Partner Bowleven said the new agreement, reached following talks with SNH, “would be for the production of hydrocarbons including the delivery of gas to thermal power plants or any other projects confirmed by the state”.

London-listed Energean announced on 21 January that it had taken a final investment decision on the North El Amriya and North Idku (NEA/NI) concession subsea tieback project offshore Egypt. The NEA concession contains two discovered and appraised gas fields, Yazzi and Python, while the NI concession contains four discovered gas fields, one of which is ready for development. NEA/NI is due to deliver first gas in H2 2022 from 49m boe of 2P reserves, 87% of which is gas. Peak production is expected to be approximately 90mcf/d, plus 1,000 b/d of condensates.

Equinor has written down the book value of its Tanzania LNG project by $982m, amid questions over future global LNG demand and continued concerns about Tanzania’s business environment. Equinor’s partner ExxonMobil has been seeking a buyer for its stake for some time. Equinor said that, while progress had been made in recent years on the commercial framework, overall project economics had not yet improved sufficiently to justify keeping it on the balance sheet at its previous value. 

Sonatrach subsidiary Naftal’s liquid petroleum gas director Rachid Yaguer has said a project to build two pipelines to carry LPG from Arzew in the west to Algiers would be launched soon. The project is intended to replace transport by sea to major demand centres. Yaguer told Echourouk TV the two 400km pipelines should be built within 36 months, to supply the capital, where LPG use has been rising quickly.