Search results

A tanker loaded with 1m barrels of Libyan crude destined for China left Tobruk port in eastern Libya on 11 July. If it can take its cargo to market, a definitive boundary will have been crossed in the dismantling of National Oil Corporation (NOC)’s control over oil export and marketing – a trade already mired in allegations about the illicit exchange of oil for Chinese military drones

President El Sisi’s cabinet reshuffle is the most significant reshaping of the energy sector’s management in nearly a decade, bringing new ministers to the oil and gas and electricity portfolios, who face daunting challenges as Egypt struggles to meet its ambitions for energy self-sufficiency and to become a regional gas and renewable power hub, writes John Hamilton.

Maputo’s goal to become a regional power exporter continues to take shape, with investors committed to a substantial pipeline of renewable and gas-fired plants. Utility EDM is also promoting expansion of national and international interconnections, while progress is reported on the strategic 1.5GW Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric project, writes Marc Howard.

The ANC has kept control of a swathe of portfolios, as South Africa’s Government of National Unity has raised hope that the new coalition can speed reforms and implement more effective policies to tackle persistent economic challenges, write Tonderayi Mukeredzi and Jon Marks.

A 250MW deal between Karpowership and the authorities in Libreville comes as the Turkish floating power plant provider continues to attract interest from other African countries in need of quickly deployable on-grid baseload capacity additions, including Liberia, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea, writes Marc Howard.

French major TotalEnergie has agreed to take a 60% stake and operatorship in a second offshore block, north of Principé island.

The 225MW Saint Louis combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) development on Senegal’s north-west coast is nearing financial close, according to a progress update given to African Energy by Turkish developer Aksa Energy.

The axing of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS) by President Bola Tinubu has made the fuel far more expensive for Nigerian drivers – prompting Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation to test the local appetite for compressed natural gas as an alternative transport fuel.

Although unfashionable, refineries are likely to prove increasingly important to Africa’s energy security, with investors backing new downstream projects in Nigeria, Angola, Uganda and South Africa. These are expected to narrow the refined products trade imbalance in sub-Saharan Africa, where backers also highlight the role of ‘transition fuels’ such as LPG, write Marc Howard and Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Aliko Dangote has kept his cards close to his chest, but his 650,000 b/d refinery in Lekki, Lagos state is set to change the regional downstream balance, writes Leonard Lawal in Lagos.

South Africa has lost about 50% of its oil refining capacity since 2020, with three key refiners taken off line, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports for refined fuel products. Faced with a growing mismatch between local demand and supply, the authorities have been trying to encourage local and foreign investors to revive and expand the idle refineries and build new ones to ensure energy security, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

While diesel and petroleum attract the lion’s share of downstream attention, other products are vitally important for Africa’s energy transition. In its Oil 2024 report released in June, the International Energy Agency (IEA) cites liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a key transition fuel for Africa, predicting 5% annual growth.

Angola’s first new refinery since independence is set to boost the trade balance of Africa’s third-largest crude exporter, with the initial phase expected to meet 10% of domestic demand.

The New and Renewable Energy Authority has signed a trio of land agreements in a strategic area the Egyptian government hopes will become one of the world’s largest zones of wind output with close to 30GW of installed production.

Authority in Libya’s oil and gas sector is fraying, with a flood of internal administrative correspondence leaking from the Government of National Unity and especially from NOC, whose failure to account for its multi-billion dollar budgets is now threatening operations, while two rival ministers compete for control and services giant Schlumberger has threatened to suspend operations until its debts are paid, writes John Hamilton.