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ZETDC has been taken to arbitration by developer NRE in a dispute over US dollar payments, in a case with significant implications for the country’s struggling power sector and which also highlights the macroeconomic problems weighing on the Mnangagwa administration, writes Marc Howard

Political change via the ballot box in Zambia has been widely welcomed. The focus for newly-elected President Hakainde Hichilema is to aggressively restructure government debt and fight corruption to spur economic development in a significant about-turn from the outgoing Lungu administration. If successful, this could provide headroom for social spending and help to restore donor and investor confidence, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka and African Energy staff.

The government was dealt a blow on 15 June when the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled in favour of Betamax, after the Mauritian-Singaporean petroleum products supply joint venture had appealed to the arbiter in London against a Supreme Court of Mauritius (SCM) decision against it.

In the last ten years, Zambia has witnessed a number of disputes in the power sector, the bulk of which have revolved around utility Zesco. Under the new administration, the situation could become clearer – and more encouraging for investors.

The island’s ‘Saint Louis Gate’ power procurement scandal and other corruption enquiries, plus the government’s loss of a petroleum supply arbitration appeal, highlight the potential pitfalls of doing business in Africa’s most highly rated economy, writes Marc Howard.

Alarm over the government’s emergency process for sourcing medical equipment last year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic showed that concerns over Mauritian procurement practices were not limited to major power schemes.

Energy minister Newton Kambala was fired by President Lazarus Chakwera on 11 August, following his appearance at Lilongwe Magistrates Court on graft charges. Kambala had been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) two days earlier.

Like so many governments, President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration is struggling with the challenges and contradictions of energy transition in Ghana. Oil and gas (O&G) projects are under pressure, having been seen as a crucial way to boost revenues – which have fed into treasury coffers since the Jubilee field development – and drive power generation and industrial development, and create vital jobs.

The government suspended the operations of 54 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on 20 August, including the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (Afiego) which had been campaigning on behalf of people affected by the planned East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop).

Changes to the regulations on which power plants need to have a generation licence have been hailed as the most significant change for the industry in a generation, but investors are still trying to assess what the possibilities might be, writes Dan Marks.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on 17 August signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with China Machinery Engineering Company and General Electric for the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project

Confronted by the challenges posed of bringing people together during a period of continued global health, the organisers of the Africa Energy Forum (aef) and Africa Investment Exchange (AIX): Power & Renewables have agreed to work in parallel to hold their industry-leading events in London during the week of 15-19 November.

The government has forecast an upturn in average production in 2021 to 344,000 b/d. This would be higher than the record 339,000 b/d produced in 2019 and would mark a recovery from 2020 when only 300,000 b/d was produced due to output declines in mature fields and the low level of investment.

A keystone of Libya’s oil and gas industry for the past seven years, National Oil Corporation chairman Mustafa Sanalla is under intense pressure, with his position weakened by further deterioration in an antagonistic relationship with oil minister Mohammed Aoun and demands for his dismissal from leaders of the Cyrenaica-based House of Representatives. It comes at a time when Libya is ill-prepared for any disruption to its main source of foreign currency revenues, writes John Hamilton.

Zimbabwe is preparing to sell a stake in the state-owned fuel marketing and distribution company Petrotrade in the next few months, African Energy understands. Petrotrade – which has the mandate to market and distribute petroleum products, including diesel, gasoline, lubricants and liquid petroleum gas – is seeking a strategic partner to inject fresh capital into the business in order to improve operational capacity and enable it to expand its footprint.