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Financial commitments towards South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan from the International Partners Group of western countries and multilateral organisations have expanded to almost $14bn, up from an initial pledge of $8.5bn, but the programme faces criticism over the slow disbursement of funds.

Norwegian major Equinor has completed its exit from the Nigerian market, with the sale of its Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (Enec) subsidiary to the local Chappal Energies. Chappal will pay up to $1.2bn for a minority stake in the offshore Agbami oil field and operatorship and majority ownership of licence area OML 129.

The African Development Bank has committed $170m for Egypt’s largest wind project to date, which is being developed by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and the local Hassan Allam Utilities. Another multilateral is expected to contribute a further $200m.

Etana Energy, the South African electricity trading platform, has secured a $100m guarantee facility to support its growth. British International Investment and GuarantCo will each provide $50m in guarantees, in an arrangement designed to support the development of more renewable energy by offering IPPs greater certainty over future revenues.

Former energy minister Samuel Sarr has been detained by Dakar gendarmerie, following allegations by shareholders of embezzlement at his West African Energy power project. The shock development raises further questions about energy deals made during the 2012-24 Macky Sall administration, writes Waly Dione Faye.

African Energy understands that an audit by international accounting firm Mazars of the independent power producer (IPP) West African Energy (WAE) has discovered that former energy minister and Sénélec chief executive Samuel Sarr had invoiced another IPP developer, Ndar Energy, for CFA5bn ($7.6m).

Sound Energy has completed the sale of its Sound Energy Morocco East subsidiary to Casablanca-based Managem. The London AIM-listed company will receive up to $45m for stakes in the Tendrara, Grand Tendrara and Anoual licence areas, but will still retain minority interests in all three areas.

CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) has raised an initial $140m tranche of senior debt from South Africa’s Standard Bank to fund commercial and industrial (C&I) power projects fuelled by renewable energy (RE) across Africa.

A Gridworks-Eranove-AEE Power consortium, developer of three metro-grid solar PV projects for cities in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, has selected the African Development Bank as lead arranger. An initial funding round for $145m is expected to conclude within 18 months.

Chinese IPPs and investors are backing 2.5GW of new coal and solar projects that Zimbabwean authorities claim will end load shedding by 2025 – and end the need for power imports by 2026. However, Harare has a history of announcing megaprojects that do not materialise and, even if these schemes do go ahead, questions remain over whether the grid will be able to handle the additional power, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Some 330MW of new, small-scale renewable capacity is expected to be funded by Camco’s Repp 2 blended finance fund. Prospective projects span on- and off-grid solar, hydroelectric and wind power.

The Libyan government is about to claim more than $60bn of until now unknown assets, which investigators say were secretly invested in United States treasury bonds by the former Qadhafi regime. But, with much of the paper held in smaller American midwestern financial institutions, there will likely be a massive battle to establish title to the bonds, and decide how and to whom they should be returned.

Six years of debts owed by Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to Zesco are a heavy burden on the utility. Figures seen by African Energy suggest the amount is much larger than previously estimated and may not be repaid soon.

The ruling ‘Duo Diomaye/Sonko’ seems to hold all the cards needed to at least try to implement their ambitious Project Senegal 2050 agenda, after their Pastef party won some 130 of the 165 National Assembly seats in Senegal’s much-anticipated mid-November legislative election, writes Waly Dione Faye.

In contrast to the existing Kenya-Tanzania line, and with work on the Tanzanian side of the Zambia-Tanzania line expected to be completed by mid-2026, the stalled Zambian component of the ZTK interconnector remains far behind schedule – much to the frustration of President Hakainde Hichilema. But new funding from the World Bank Group, the UK and EU is expected to see a quick project restart, write Marc Howard and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.