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Eni has announced the completion of its acquisition of UK supermajor BP’s assets in Algeria, including working interests in the In Amenas (45.89%) and In Salah (33.15%) gas fields, which together produced 11bcm in 2021. The purchase adds to a flow of recent deals has buttressed Eni’s position as the leading international oil company (IOC) in north-west Africa.

London AIM-listed Sound Energy on 14 September announced a ruling against it by tax authorities it its dispute with the Moroccan tax authorities. Sound estimated the ruling could cost it $19.7m in back taxes; it has 60 days to accept the decision or challenge it in court.

The floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase I has been completed and “will soon sail to Mauritania and Senegal”, France’s Technip Energies NV said on 12 September.

Shares in Geregu Power started trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on 5 October, becoming the first electricity generating company (genco) to be listed on the bourse’s main board. The company joined the market via a direct listing, with 2.5bn shares priced at ₦100 each, valuing the company at ₦250bn ($569m).

Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with Société Nationale d’Electricité du Sénégal (Senelec) to develop a 160MW combined cycle gas-turbine (CCGT) plant power plant in Cap des Biches.

The Indian government and parastatals are discussing taking liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Algeria and Angola under long-term supply agreements in response to the energy crisis. The African countries are not alone, as New Delhi has also said it has reached out to other big producers including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, as the government seeks to reassure anxious markets.

Europe’s hunger for non-Russian sources of natural gas has intensified diplomatic and commercial rivalries in the eastern Mediterranean, pushed ambitious schemes to the forefront, and raised the prospects of other African gas plays that were previously considered marginal. But it is not obvious that European governments or buyers are ready to plump for one favoured deal over the rest, meaning the gas could still go elsewhere.  

Environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth (Fote) received High Court permission on 22 April to take the British government to court over its financial support via UK Export Finance (Ukef) for the Total-operated Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas (MLNG) scheme. Legal proceedings are another complication for MLNG, which has been badly affected by the conflict in the Rovuma Basin, prompting Total to declare force majeure in recent days.

Mozambique’s cabinet on 6 December approved changes to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with Anadarko and Eni to allow the two companies to sell the government’s share of gas from projects in the Rovuma Basin. The concessionaires have agreed to combine their LNG volumes into joint sales in order to offer bigger volumes that can command better prices at the market. Eni is expected to make a final investment decision on its Coral South floating LNG project by the end of this year, while Anadarko’s investment decision on the Golfinho-Atum development is expected in 2017.

 The Islamist uprising in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province reached a new level of intensity when hundreds of militants attacked Palma on 24 March; the insurgents occupied the town for over a week. The Mozambique Armed Defense Forces (FADM) said on 4 April it had retaken control, but the state’s inability to protect its citizens and its largest foreign investor was plain to see as the jihadists carried out a swift, complex attack in which all its security forces were either killed or deserted.

In a key step towards a final investment decision for Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) scheme, the council of ministers in Maputo has approved the plan of development for Eni’s Coral discovery in offshore Area 4. The approval relates to the first phase, which will develop 5tcf of gas in the discovery, via a 3.4m t/yr floating LNG facility. Eni said the plan of development, the first to be approved in the Rovuma Basin, foresees the drilling and completion of six subsea wells in water depths of 2,000 metres some 80km offshore.

With sky-high prices apparently a thing of the past, the outlook is gloomy for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters, even in the most lucrative markets, such as Japan. With a predicted supply glut running into the next decade and price pressures accentuated by the fast-emerging spot market (for more on this see African Energy’s sister publication Gulf States News http://www.gsn-online.com/amid-shifting-global-gas-supply-gulf-states-emerge-as-their-own-best-market) only a few major projects are still expected to go ahead worldwide. In Africa, these include Eni’s Zohr field in Egypt and developments in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin (as well as its smaller, more southerly fields supplying South Africa).

There are grounds for optimism that Mozambique’s planned $30bn liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project could provide a foundation for the ailing economy’s resurgence. Mozambique’s exports could plug a mid-2020s global LNG supply gap, and Portuguese gas distributor Galp’s vice-chairman, Carlos Gomes da Silva, has said that the “next decade should be the Mozambique decade”. The sums involved are substantial: petroleum and energy minister Max Tonela has said the Eni and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation projects are expected to provide the government with an estimated $77bn over their lifespans.

Mozambique’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are expected to be dispatched “on or around” 14 October, shipping industry publication Trade Winds said on 21 September citing sources working with Eni’s Coral Sul 3.4m t/yr floating liquid natural gas (FLNG) plant. The Rome-headquartered supermajor is said to be moving towards ordering a second FLNG vessel.

With revenue heavily dependent on oil receipts, the collapse in crude prices has left public sector finances in dire straits, reigniting talk of removing fuel subsidies. However, after weeks of silence, the government has deferred a decision, saying it will handle the issue with care. Buhari was quoted by spokesman Garba Shehu as saying: “When you touch the price of petroleum products, that has the effect of triggering price rises on transportation, food and rent.”