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Oil means everything to Puntlanders, who believe its discovery will lift the Somali region’s people out of poverty, transform the economy into a Dubai-style success story and unite all Somalis.

IOCs and consumer governments are indulging in intense speculation about Gazprom’s Nigerian love-in, with indications that Moscow might also revive co-operation with Algeria and invest big in several other African gas plays.

President Umara Musa Yar’Adua wants a stronger national industry – as he noted, opening CWC Associates’ Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference 2008 in Abuja on 19 February, “the provision of petroleum projects is dependent on expertise from other countries.”

Plans are moving ahead for the most radical overhaul of Nigeria’s hydrocarbons industry in 40 years, according to the draft report seen by Our Gulf of Guinea Correspondent. Also in African Energy, Eleanor Gillespie in Abuja and Leonard Lawal in Lagos report on joint ventures and other aspects of the reform promised across the industry, which may not be to the taste of many IOCs but fulfill a need for real change in Nigeria.

The African Union’s new energy arm is intended to help the continent present a more coherent message – and mobilise more resources – in the global energy fora that count, writes Jon Marks in Algiers.

The government has lifted the suspension of 22 advocacy groups that had spoken out about the use of state resources. The groups included members of Publish What You Pay Gabon, which has played a leading role in campaigning for the responsible management of oil and mining revenues

The 12 January confirmation of Daniel Yengo Massampu as Société Nationale d’Electricité’s chief executive keeps a professional at the operational helm of Democratic Republic of Congo’s power sector during a difficult period

International oil companies’ Algiers offices have instituted emergency measures to protect their staff following unattributed terrorist threats against them, setting the rumour mill into overdrive in the Algerian capital. But at the same time IOCs say they are determined that business should continue as usual, worried that a public stress on security issues could harm their already sensitive relations with the authorities.

Malawi has become the latest country to cut off diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of the People’s Republic of China

The decision by Senegal’s new government to cancel major contracts with foreign investors sends a worrying signal. Hydro-Québec told Thalia Griffiths it would steer clear of further expansion in the region for now.

There is a new enthusiasm about Libyan business, and European oil companies are stepping up their operations even before the introduction of a new hydrocarbons law, now being drafted, but Muammar Qadhafi’s Libya is still no market for the faint-hearted, writes THALIA GRIFFITHS.