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A review of offshore oil and gas contracts had been anticipated, following pledges made on the campaign trail ahead of the February election. Agreements signed by the previous administration of President Macky Sall are expected to come in for particular scrutiny, write Waly Dione Faye and Marc Howard.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

TotalEnergies and state partner Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) have taken a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Ubeta gas field in the onshore OML 58 licence area.

Anglo-French independent Perenco has bought into the leading floating LNG developer, building on their existing Cameroon partnership.

Despite the first cargo being lifted from the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline (NBEP) sea terminal in May, cross-border relations have continued to sour, after Benin arrested five Nigerien pipeline employees and a second crude loading was aborted, while insurgents have attacked the pipeline in Niger, writes Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou with Marc Howard.

State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has signed a project development agreement (PDA) with Norway’s Golar LNG for a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project offshore the Niger Delta. NNPC said the development would “monetise vast proven gas reserves from shallow water resources”.

Informed sources have told African Energy that West African Energy’s gas-to-power plant is expected to be commissioned around the turn of the year, but questions remain over when the natural gas feedstock will be available and whether the new Pastef administration may reassess details of the directly-awarded contract, write Waly Dione Faye and Marc Howard.

The long-awaited arrival of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim scheme’s FPSO vessel  is welcome news for the LNG megaproject, having twice been delayed by external events.

Future supply of feedstock for the 300MW West African Energy (WAE) Cap des Biches plant and the other new gas-to-power (GTP) capacity planned by state utility Société Nationale d’Electricité du Sénégal (Senelec) remains contingent on infrastructure development. The most promising source of gas is the offshore 25tcf Yakaar-Teranga (Y-T) project, now operated by US independent Kosmos Energy following BP’s exit last year.