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After a trial shrouded in secrecy, the criminal court in Oran has finally handed down sentences on disgraced Sonatrach president director-general Mohammed Meziane, ex-interim PDG and downstream vice president Abdelhafid Feghouli and three co-defendants, who were accused of misappropriating public funds and short-circuiting the tender process by awarding contracts on a gré-à-gré (directly negotiated) basis.

As the Jonathan administration settles in, GE is among the major players looking to build an even bigger business on the back of Abuja’s commitment to increased electricity supply and an acceleration of stalled IPPs

A wave of strikes, adding to the localised protests across the country over social and economic issues, says much about the current mood in a North African state that has so far resisted the galvanic change that marked the early months of the Arab Spring.

With a $181m deal, one of the largest local currency financings in an African emerging market is complete, writes Kevin Godier

Cameroon has tapped Chinese expertise and funding for two key dam projects as part of plans to triple electricity output. The Electricity Development Corporation (EDC) announced on 9 May that the construction contract for the key Lom Pangar dam had been awarded to China International Water and Electric Corporation, a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation.

National Oil Corporation chairman Shukri Ghanem appears to have defected to the opposition, taking with him vital intelligence on the regime's fuel supplies, in a major blow to Muammar Qadhafi's hopes of clinging to power, writes John Hamilton

The revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia during the first part of the year affected the company’s gas production in both countries, but operations are returning to normal. Fears that a week-long blockade of BG Group’s offices in the town of Nakta could lead to a shutdown of its Tunisia operations have receded after the company committed to employing more local staff and made other concessions.

A range of energy industry players and financiers are waiting to see if the president can create sufficient national consensus to provide the investment opportunities promised by CdI’s natural resource base and reconstruction needs, writes Thalia Griffiths

Egypt’s new leaders are keen to renegotiate export contracts with Israel and Jordan, which are accused of being sold gas at preferential prices. Court hearings took place in 2009 to challenge the Israeli deal in particular (AE 172/21). Prime minister Essam Sharaf said in April he hoped to boost Egypt’s income from gas exports by $3bn-4bn. Domestic energy shortages have also made the deals unpopular, and there is a de facto moratorium on new export projects.

Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) has told African Energy that non-payment cover involving power projects in Sudan had been a major focus for the organisation.

The government is planning to revise the country’s oil law, with special emphasis on gas and pipeline regulations and especially cross-border provisions, vital for a landlocked state.

While banks await mandates to raise a new mega-loan for state oil company Sonangol (AE 207/21), monetary authorities in Luanda are also considering coming to the market this year for Angola to issue its long-awaited debut Eurobond.

Equity financing is almost complete for the Egyptian Refinery Company (ERC) project, which tapped North Africa’s largest debt financing in H2 2010 and is due to start operations in 2015.

The cost of the Libyan conflict is becoming ever more apparent for construction and engineering companies, with the threat that under-insured businesses may be landed with potentially catastrophic losses if they forfeit on-demand contract bonds.

As part of donor efforts to restore Liberia’s infrastructure, the US government has installed a 10MW light fuel oil power plant at Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC)’s Bushrod Island facility.