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Africa-focused downstream giant Vivo Energy has finalised the acquisition of Indian Ocean liquid petroleum gas (LPG) player, Société Industrielle et Gazière de Mayotte (Somagaz). The move follows Vivo’s 2023 purchase of stakes in African LPG businesses in Namibia and Réunion.

Following several gas discoveries at the Mukuyu-2 well on the ambitious Australian minnow’s Cabora Bassa project, Invictus Energy and local partner One Gas Resources have revised a 2019 gas memorandum with local developers planning to build a 500MW gas-fired power plant.

Project sources have told African Energy that the liquefaction plant for the estimated $42bn Tanzania Liquefied Natural Gas development will have a larger than expected capacity.

The final COP28 communiqué included – for the first time – a commitment to eventually phase out fossil fuels, going beyond previous declarations that focused on coal. However, there are few signs that Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members and their Opec+ allies, led by Russia, have any intention of allowing their core source of revenues to disappear anytime soon. So what can we learn from recent statements by oil producers – including Opec+’s quota commitments at a meeting on 30 November – and from leaks and comments made during COP28?

The South African government’s decision to approve state-owned PetroSA’s selection of an affiliate of Russia’s sanctioned Gazprombank as the preferred investment partner for the Mossel Bay GTL plant has sparked controversy.

ExxonMobil has provided an update on the expected start date for front-end engineering and design (Feed) work on the 18m t/yr Rovuma liquefied natural gas (RLNG) development in Cabo Delgado. The United States supermajor also said it was undertaking a security assessment in partnership with TotalEnergies, as it targets an exit from force majeure.

The UAE has had to deal with some unwelcome scrutiny of its energy strategy after the COP28 climate conference opened in Dubai on 30 November. Observers had long warned that holding such an event in the world’s seventh largest oil producer was likely to lead to friction and so it has proved. African Energy’s sister publication Gulf States Newsletter (GSN) gives a view from the region, including a roundup of the big pledges made in a ‘transactional’ first week.

Golar LNG has been bullish in outlining its regional expectations for floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG), saying on 21 November that West Africa’s estimated 240tcf gas reserves and “proximity to all major demand centres” gave it a competitive advantage over other gas-exporting regions.

Major Mauritania-Senegal Basin plays GTA and Sangomar are now advancing after ship-related issues delayed both projects for around a year. However, despite optimism for West African LNG developments, much-anticipated results from Shell’s wildcat well in Mauritania’s Block C10 have disappointed.

The Zambian government has said it will abandon the current 30-day pricing cycle for petroleum products and instead move to a 90-day review period, reversing a policy that was set late last year. However, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has told African Energy that changing the price review mechanism cannot happen “overnight” and a number of issues need to be assessed before the current 30-day cycle can be discarded.

Dodoma and Kampala have signed a bilateral agreement to jointly fund a feasibility study for a new pipeline to send gas from southern Tanzania to Uganda.

The 1,982km Niger-Benin export pipeline (NBEP) has been nominally commissioned by Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, although in reality it will be some months before any crude oil is exported along the route.

First discovered in 1974, the offshore Kudu gas field could provide substantial gas-to-power capacity for Namibia’s domestic market and for export to South Africa. Officials say it will proceed independently of recent massive Orange Basin discoveries further south, but industry observers are sceptical of the electricity export plans, citing the lack of transmission infrastructure with South Africa, write Our Namibia Correspondent and Marc Howard.

Following the recent dismissal of Sonatrach chief executive Toufik Hakkar, a further eight vice-presidents have now been dismissed from the national oil company, pointing to wider tensions within the Algiers establishment, writes Our Algiers Corresondent.

Kosmos Energy has taken an operated stake in the 25tcf offshore Yakaar-Teranga gas field, following BP’s exit, and says it intends to export up to 3m t/yr of LNG. Longstanding plans to supply local offtakers through a new pipeline are also set to continue. Meanwhile the cross-border Senegal-Mauritania LNG development continues, but progress could be held up as the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project’s FPSO awaits repairs off Durban, writes Marc Howard.