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SacOil is currently one of only three oil and gas companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, alongside petrochemicals giant Sasol and Nigeria’s Oando; it is the only pure exploration play. Chief executive Robin Vela told African Energy

Despite the Maghreb's political upheavals, trade and investment facilitators appear prepared to take a greater spread of risk across the African continent, writes Kevin Godier. As the impact of the financial crisis has been absorbed and a new post-crisis risk map has emerged, many analysts are viewing Africa in a more favourable light. The continent’s rising profile in financial circles is reflected in the first ratings

The politics are complex and transport routes can be even more difficult than the governance, but European majors are increasingly drawn to Central African upstream plays, often working with Africa-based concerns. This is a response to the Great Lakes region’s exploration success, as well as to the growing volatility of the Maghreb and Middle East, write Thalia Griffiths and John Hamilton

Realisation of the seriousness of the situation in revolutionary Benghazi only struck home in the late afternoon of 15 March with conflicting reports about the possible fall of Ajdabiya. On the morning of 16 March reports came in of a government bombardment at the eastern capital’s airport and other strategic locations. As African Energy went to press, a majority of foreigners had left for the border with Egypt.

The ruling military council has named Mahmoud Latif Amer as new petroleum minister in the interim cabinet appointed after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Previously chairman of Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas),

With April’s presidential and parliamentary elections looming, and a range of contentious issues pointing to a tighter battle than yet seen in Nigeria’s short democratic history, incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan is still hoping to force through the controversial and much delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the current parliamentary term ends in May.

The international companies that worked so hard to obtain major contracts from the Libyan regime, and their diplomatic backers and bankers, now find themselves confronted with an awkward situation. The unspoken rule of many transactions in recent years has been to find a member of the Qadhafi family – or more usually their representatives – to sponsor a deal through the Jamahiriya (State of the Masses)

Fresh support from the South African government has strengthened the borrowing leverage of power parastatal Eskom, as it seeks to maintain its building programme, writes Kevin Godier. Just weeks after South Africa’s Eskom successfully tapped a $1.75bn bond from global investors, Pretoria announced on 15 February that it would support Eskom’s R549bn ($78.9bn) build programme up to 2017 with a R350bn guarantee framework

Controversy is growing over the award by President Joseph Kabila of an oil exploration permit in the Virunga National Park, home to some of the world’s last few mountain gorillas. But while international organisations are urging the government to protect the park, MPs from North Kivu want exploration to go ahead in the hope of bringing development cash to the region.

The future direction of Egypt’s energy industries will remain uncertain while different political constituencies transact the transfer of power to a representative civilian authority

Political risk insurance (PRI) and other risk mitigation markets are having to adapt to the more difficult outlook. Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) has become a particular focus for PRI underwriters and the price of cover ""has more than doubled for Egypt and Tunisia since the crisis period began

The longest and largest domestic project financing in Botswana pula, a BWP1.2bn ($179m), nine-year deal to fund a major expansion at Morupule colliery, “is about to close”, according to an informed source.

The African Development Bank board has approved a $25m senior private sector loan for ContourGlobal’s KivuWatt gas to power project, the first large scale private sector investment in power generation in Rwanda

Sonangol is increasingly playing the role of a sovereign wealth fund, diversifying its activities outside its core oil business.

While the government quietly accelerates reforms to counter pressures that have exploded in Tunisia and Egypt, the state energy giant is preparing new management structures that should speed implementation of major projects