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TotalEnergies’ move to increase its interest in the Waha oil concessions, plus a separate agreement with General Electric Company of Libya (Gecol) to build 500MW of solar power, shows how the politically nimble oil major intends to trace a line between its fossil-fuelled past and the net zero future.

The Rwandan deployment has changed the course of the Mozambique government’s battle against Islamist insurgents. This opens the way for a crucial resumption of big gas projects in Cabo Delgado, but questions remain about the Rwandan deployment’s funding, President Kagame’s strategic goals and whether the insurgency is really beaten, writes Marc Howard

Malabo has big ambitions to become a regional gas hub, but from an oil production perspective Equatorial Guinea is a small player. Despite activity involving Noble/Kosmos and Trident, ExxonMobil wants to get out In oil terms, Equatorial Guinea is an Opec minnow whose already small crude production has edged lower in recent years, with output in 2019 of 117,000 b/d slipping to 112,000 b/d last year – and averaging just 107,000 b/d in Q1 2021, amid Opec quota restrictions that kept barrels in the ground.

The appointment of a new unified government opens the way to significant reform of Libya’s energy sector. While power supply will be a key priority, the return of sovereign authority to the oil sector could finally enable long-awaited regulatory reforms, provided the new oil minister can work with NOC, writes John Hamilton.

Australian independent joint venture company Afro Energy is preparing to move ahead with a three-well onshore drilling campaign, injecting further momentum into South African upstream activity as the landmark Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, published in June, awaits parliamentary approval.

Kosmos Energy has dropped plans to sell down part of its stake in the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project following the adoption of plans for a scaled-down second phase. The smaller phase II aims to make more use of existing infrastructure, making it cheaper and more profitable, writes Thalia Griffiths.

Better-than-expected results from the Luiperd well mean Total and its partners have dropped plans for further drilling and will move straight to development. Domestic gas will come as a shot in the arm for the South African economy but development will not be straightforward, writes Thalia Griffiths.

Turkey’s Calik Energy and GE have signed contracts to build a 300MW CCGT plant at Cap des Biches. The plant will initially burn naphtha but is expected to run on local gas as soon as it becomes available from developments under way offshore, writes Dan Marks

Nigeria is proving to be a testing ground for trucking gas on African roads, while Circle Gas’s LPG-based cooking solution is building up a consumer base in Kenya and Tanzania. Africa remains a frontier market for ‘virtual pipelines’ and other innovative uses for gas, but business models are evolving to create some vibrant new industries, writes Jon Marks.

South Africa’s Renergen expects to launch a new phase of drilling in late July, targeting gas-producing fracture systems in its Virginia Gas Project production hub in Free State. As the field has gas permeating up through faults and fissures, rather than a conventional reservoir, the company plans to drill inclined wells at a 45 degree angle to improve gas recoverability. The gas at Virginia is methane with unusually high concentrations of helium – the average concentration is 3.4% and a discovery drilled in December 2019 contained up to 12%, making it by far the world’s richest resource in terms of concentration. By comparison, Qatari helium has a concentration of about 0.04% and US helium about 0.35%.

Karpowership is well advanced with the conversion of three LNG tankers to floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) designed specifically for the African market and is hoping to steal a march on rival LNG import schemes. The FSRUs are being built through a 50:50 joint venture with Mitsui Osaka Lines (MOL).

Imminent commissioning of the Tobruk, Misratah and Tripoli West gas-fired power plants could put unprecedented strain on a Libyan gas supply network that is already struggling to supply enough feedstock to maintain output at operating stations in Tripolitania. Failing to end the decade-long electricity supply crisis will be politically costly for ‘outgoing’ prime minister Abdelhamid Dabaiba, and it may also be a while before Eni-National Oil Corporation joint venture Mellitah Oil and Gas can cash in on increased European demand by exporting more gas through the Greenstream pipeline 

The launch of two projects to import LNG will eventually save Libya money and end a debilitating period of rolling power cuts. While gas sales from the west of the country to Italy are likely to continue, the deterioration of one of Africa’s leading hydrocarbons exporters to this point provides more evidence of the shocking irresponsibility of domestic politicians and their various international supporters, writes John Hamilton

A boom is expected for the extractives sector, highlighted by first gas supply from the Coral Sul reservoir off Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado coast, but locals are demanding a fairer share of the benefits and the authorities are struggling to define what they mean by ‘local content’.

Loading of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from Eni’s 3.4m t/yr Coral Sul floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant is due to take place on 14 November, an industry source told African Energy.