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The total budget deficit accumulated by Libya’s Tripoli-based administrations since 2011 is now LYD71bn (approximately $50bn), African Energy understands. However, since the House of Representatives legislature re-established itself in Cyrenaica in 2014, the rival interim government it appointed under the leadership of Abdullah Al-Thinni may have run up an additional deficit of LYD25bn. Until an independent audit of both the Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya and the Al-Baida-based parallel central bank is carried out, the precise sums are not known and could be greater.

The existential threat to facilities in the Sirte Basin is growing while the prospects for a rapid, if partial, political solution to Libya’s crisis are diminishing. A second wave of attacks carried out by Islamic State (IS, or Daesh) on the Ras Lanuf and Sidra oil export terminals on 21 January has demonstrated definitively that the jihadist organisation intends to destroy oil production capability rather than exploiting it for commercial gain.

President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has named a new oil energy and mines minister, Taleb Ould Abdi Vall, who had been head of state mining company Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM) since August 2009.

Angola’s opposition União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (Unita) has repeated its accusations that the government has diverted billions of dollars in oil revenues. While bankers are sceptical about the sums cited by the party, the accusations are embarrassing as the government prepares for negotiations on a bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

National Oil Corporation (NOC) is beset on every side by attacks on its independence. Each of the main factions in Libya’s civil conflict is determined to bring control over oil production and export within its own grasp, despite the newly established international quartet’s unanimous support for the principle that the sovereign institutions should remain free of political interference. On 27 March, NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla strongly rejected a resolution passed by the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) placing the corporation under the control of a newly proposed oil ministry.

Crude oil exports are expected to resume within weeks following a deal between rebel federalists and the caretaker central government which allowed the lifting of force majeure at the Ras Lanuf and Sidra terminals on 6 July. Details of any commitments made by the government to the federalists have not yet been made public, so the full potential ramifications of the settlement are still unclear. However, in contrast to previous attempts to lift the blockades, this agreement has won the confidence both of industry sources within Tripoli and the international market.

Sasol is making progress with a divestment programme aimed at helping the company survive a cash crisis exacerbated by coronavirus and the low oil price. The company said on 1 July it had signed an agreement to sell its interest in the Escravos gas-to-liquids plant in Nigeria to Chevron, though it would continue to provide catalyst supply, technology and technical support. Sasol has also sold its 51% share in a new explosives joint venture announced in October 2019 to its partner Enaex SA.

Ghana’s 7 December election came at a critical juncture for the country. Outgoing president John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress government have left a mixed legacy, with numerous energy projects of varying quality and national utilities in dire need of reform. His successor, Nana Akufo-Addo, of the more business-oriented New Patriotic Party (NPP) inherits a sector in which key decisions over future gas supply, the generation mix and the reform of state utilities will need to be made.

In the latest scandal to hit Namibia’s highly politicised oil sector, petroleum commissioner Immanuel Mulunga has admitted to taking money from entrepreneur Knowledge Katti, writes Our Windhoek Correspondent

Until now, analyses of Libyan security risk have focused on the large numbers of weapons in circulation and the central government’s inability to impose its authority on unruly local militias, some of which have extreme Islamist agendas. But, following the In Aménas attack in Algeria, Tripoli now also has to develop a strategy in partnership with neighbouring governments, including those in Tunis, Algiers and Cairo, to combat the emerging threat of regionally orchestrated Al-Qaeda attacks.

American and European businesses will remain key players across the continent, but their dominance is in retreat. The full effects of the global financial crisis have taken years to reveal themselves – not least in the impact of stagnant wages and widening social divisions on the politics of western economies – but have been reflected in western banks pulling back, in some places to be replaced by Moroccan and South African institutions.

France’s Total has taken over African Petroleum Corporation’s Rufisque Offshore Profond Block and will also explore the ultra-deep. Total said on 2 May it had signed an exploration and production-sharing contract for the 10,357km2 block, which it will operate with a 90% interest, alongside Société Nationale des Pétroles du Sénégal (Petrosen), which holds 10%. Total also signed a cooperation agreement with Petrosen and the Ministry of Energy and Renewable Energy Development to carry out studies to assess the exploration potential of Senegal’s ultra-deep offshore and become operator of an exploration block.

In-fighting within the political class rarely surfaces in public, but it remains a significant factor in Egyptian decision-making.

Libya’s armed conflict has been focused since April on the southern regions of Tripoli, an area quite far from oil fields and facilities, and this has allowed operations to carry on without interruption. In recent weeks, the only two major oil sites to have been damaged were a warehouse owned by Mellitah Oil & Gas, which was destroyed in an aerial bombardment, and some fuel storage tanks owned by Brega Oil Marketing Company, which were destroyed by shelling during fighting for control of Tripoli International Airport.

Tullow Oil’s farmdown to Total and CNOOC of around 20% of its Ugandan licences terminated on 29 August, following the expiry of the sale and purchase agreements (SPAs). Tullow said it had been unable to secure a further extension. With a final investment decision (FID) on the development now pushed further back, Total has suspended development of the export pipeline to Tanzania’s Tanga port.