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With access to private funding getting more difficult, the European Investment Bank plans to maintain and even expand its role in financing Africa’s energy sector. This reflects the priority now being given by the European Union to north-south energy partnerships, EIB officials told François Misser.

Following the end of its civil war, Angola has become an increasingly assertive regional player, reflected in a number of security deals – projecting the powerful Forças Armadas Angolanas (FAA) beyond Angola’s borders, notably in Brazzaville and Kinshasa – and in its determination to support Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe.

Tripoli may appear to have temporarily squashed the bid by China National Petroleum Corporation for Canada’s Verenex Energy, but Africa remains set for a big year on the mergers and acquisitions front, big market player Scotia Waterous told Kevin Godier.

Lower oil prices and production cuts put Angola’s astronomic growth forecasts into question, but OPEC’s newest member remains bullish about its business prospects

Frontier areas like East Africa and the smaller players exploring them are likely to see activity slow sharply this year as the funding crisis bites.

As southern African demand soars and power imports become harder to obtain, Botswana is looking to its coal and coalbed methane to meet local electricity needs. A financing decision on the Morupule B coal-fired plant is expected this month, and a number of CBM schemes are making progress, writes Kevin Godier.

Chinese appetite for booking significant reserves has been underlined by the acceptance of Libya-focused Verenex Energy Inc’s board for a C$499m ($387m) takeover bid by China National Petroleum Corporation subsidiary CNPC International (CNPCI). The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)-listed firm entered into a definitive agreement with the Chinese suitor on 24 February.

The eight UEMOA countries plan to establish a FCFA500bn ($979m) electricity fund to finance regional generation and transmission projects, officials in Ouagadougou told François Misser.

National Oil Corporation (NOC) may face large cuts in its budgets for the year ahead reflecting the fall in the price of oil. As African Energy was going to press, the annual General People’s Congress (GPC), which plays the role of parliament in the Jamahiriya (State of the Masses) system,

President Yoweri Museveni has carried out a major cabinet shuffle, moving Daudi Migereko from energy and minerals, and giving the finance portfolio to ultra-loyalist Syda Bbumba, a former energy minister and an economist by training.

South Africa’s first private equity clean energy fund, the Evolution One Fund, raised $56m from offshore investors in 2008 and says it is now seeking projects to invest in.

The African Energy Infrastructure Fund is moving towards its $150m first phase closing.

Despite early hopes that Africa might escape the worst of the global financial crisis, sharp falls in oil and metals prices will hit many countries hard.

Democratic Republic of Congo is at the centre of an increasing and uneasy stand-off that ostensibly pits the People’s Republic of China’s $9bn minerals-for-infrastructure contract against the

Al-Ghurairs Africa operations