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Even as negotiations continue towards the restarting of oil exports via Sudan, South Sudan is pushing ahead with plans to build alternative routes to export its oil, say senior government officials. The Juba government is also planning to build a refinery, launch a licensing round, and break up oil concessions awarded by Khartoum prior to independence, writes Richard Nield, recently in Juba

Viewed from the 4th Congo International Oil & Gas Conference & Exhibition (CIEHC4) in the Turkish-built Kintélé conference centre outside Brazzaville, there should be little of major concern to Republic of Congo’s oil industry. France’s Total and Italy’s Eni have numerous projects under way and newcomers like Russian billionaire Vagit Alekperov’s Lukoil, US independent Kosmos Energy and trader Mercuria’s upstream arm are bedding in, while local firms led by Africa Oil and Gas Corporation (AOGC) and Petro Congo (Petco) are taking up ever more acreage.

Gabon plans to launch a licensing round in January for 42 prospective deep-water and ultra-deep blocks offering pre-salt exploration potential. A previous government cancelled plans for a bid round two years ago, announcing that it was opting for direct negotiation. Oil, energy and water resources minister Etienne Ngoubou, who was appointed in February, told African Energy in an interview the bid round would be governed by the new Petroleum Code, which is close to completion.

Ecobank chairman Kolapo Lawson was forced to stand down in late October after concerns were raised about corporate governance. Media reports said Lawson agreed to go after board members meeting in Ghana decided his departure was
necessary to restore confidence among customers and shareholders following a battle over governance issues. The Nigerian central bank wrote to the pan-African lender in April, notifying it of Lawson’s failure to repay $8.79m (N1.4bn) in debts sold to state-owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 


South Sudan’s oil production has dropped 55% since the onset of an internal conflict that has just entered its fifth year. Based on crude marketing data for the month of December, crude output in November was close to 118,000 b/d, compared to about 260,000 b/d in November 2013.South Sudan was plunged into crisis in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir, concerned about internal opposition to his leadership, allowed a political dispute to escalate into civil war.

Project developers and financiers spend inordinate amounts of time and money assessing risks and their mitigation. But when traditional credit and political risk calculations are being made, they still too often overlook the populations whose land they are building on, even if they think they have community engagement in hand. Disgruntled populations may express their frustration and even violently turn on developments that seem beyond their control, and that threaten their (sometimes literally) sacred home turf.

Since Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour took over as head of Sonatrach in March, his background and history have come under intense scrutiny. While some industry participants hope that his commercial experience and attitude can revivify both Sonatrach and the oil and gas sector more generally, some controversial aspects of his past could be used to destabilise him and undermine his legitimacy. The focus of reports has been on his 2007 conviction for divulging state secrets, the business activities of his family, and his alleged French citizenship.

Hong Kong-listed Hoifu Energy Group has acquired the rights to Block 2101 by buying Madagascar Northern Petroleum Company. The British Virgin Islands-registered company was awarded the block in October 2006 but no exploration has been carried out.

The government has inaugurated a strategic steering committee for the nuclear power programme, which was established by a decree from the prime minster, Brigi Rafini, on 23 November 2016. Rafini will chair the committee, which is charged with examining and guiding policies and strategies for the implementation of projects, and with overseeing the national technical committee.“The interrelated issues of energy security, climate change and the development of our natural resources must inform and enlighten us in the search for ways and means to facilitate people’s access to sustainable energy services, guarantee energy security, and build a dynamic and competitive industrial sector,” Rafini said in a speech to the inauguration ceremony.

The interim government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has modified the contentious Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act in a significant policy shift that will see the 51/49 indigenisation threshold being applied only to diamonds and platinum mining, leaving all other sectors of the economy open to investors of any nationality. The amendment was announced on 7 December in a budget statement by finance and economic development minister Patrick Chinamasa.

With a new cabinet close to being finalised, National Oil Corporation is finally able to put in place some longer-term plans. The appointment of the new cabinet will give the ministry and NOC the authority to make decisions for the future, chairman Dr Nouri Berouin told John Hamilton in an interview in Tripoli.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) emerged from its late May annual meetings in Marrakech with its Ten-Year Strategy approved, its reputation generally enhanced and the announcement of an initiative to tackle the continent’s infrastructure deficit. The Africa50Fund is conceived of as a multi-billion dollar investment instrument that will draw on the growing pool of local savings and input from sovereign wealth and other funds, backed by bonds leveraged off the AfDB’s triple-A credit rating.

Debt restructurings and budget cuts, and reform commitments still to be implemented: in many respects, newsflow from Republic of Congo is much as usual. However, the coronavirus lockdown and oil price slump have severely exacerbated the problems confronting President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s government and the population’s daily lives.

Relationships with China have become and will remain a defining feature of most African states’ economic and geopolitical relations. Those relations are not always easy, as reflected in the popular anger at Beijing’s handling of the thousands of African students and traders stranded by coronavirus. Tensions have been rising over many countries’ mounting debts. As Covid-19 drives global recession, China’s reluctance to join the International Monetary Fund and Paris Club in negotiating transparent long-term debt relief is a concern.

One plant was not awarded in Nigeria’s generation plant round: Afam Generation Company in Rivers State. The bidders for the 776MW unit are alleged to have included a company linked to former power minister Professor Bart Nnaji, a key player in the privatisation process.