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Members of the Parliament of Ghana have opposed a plan by deputy energy minister William Aidoo to move the 250MW Ameri gas-to-power (GTP) power plant to Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti region.

Many in Nigeria believe the authorities’ move to implement minimum electricity generation capacity is politically motivated. With elections due in 2023, the pressure is on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to demonstrate its achievements. Reaching a minimum 5GW of available generation capacity would be an improvement from past administrations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on 5 July that the framework, which sets the agenda for the governments ‘just energy transition’ policy, had been finalised, five months after a public consultation document was published.

A boom is expected for the extractives sector, highlighted by first gas supply from the Coral Sul reservoir off Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado coast, but locals are demanding a fairer share of the benefits and the authorities are struggling to define what they mean by ‘local content’.

A reckless attempt by Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba to spend his way into an unchallengeable position of authority has brought Libya to the brink of ruin. More than a decade after the revolution that toppled Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s Jamahiriya system, both money and viable political options have all but run out, leaving an exhausted, impoverished and furious population confronting a crisis of existential proportions during an unbearable early summer heatwave.

A string of UAE companies – some with links to national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan – are said to be involved in a plan to develop a new Red Sea port, working with Sudanese businessman Osama Daoud Abdellatif. In a complex political situation, this might also be of interest to regime number two Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (aka Hemedti)’s friends in Russia.

Nigerian petroleum minister Timipre Sylva has called on all parties to fast-track the African Union (AU)-endorsed Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) from Nigeria to Algeria via Niger. The move follows federal government backing earlier this month for Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to enter an agreement with the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to build the ambitious Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP).

South Africa’s $8.5bn Just Energy Transition Partnership is starting to take shape, with Eskom committing to decommission more than 20GW of coal by 2035 and promising more than $6.3bn to be invested in transmission upgrades. But there are also concerns about the direction of travel as the government separately considers adding new coal and gas capacity.

London’s High Court ruled that JP Morgan did not breach fiduciary rules when it transferred funds stemming from the sale of the controversial oil production licence (OPL) 245. The judgement reveals further details of graft in the long-running saga, as Justice Cockerill found that the original award of the licence was probably corrupt and ex-oil minister Dan Etete had benefitted financially from it. Meanwhile, 25 years after it was first awarded, other disputes continue over the highly prospective OPL 245.

Operations and maintenance work at the 41MW Metoro solar plant in north-eastern Cabo Delgado province were halted on 7 June after armed attacks in the region. In another incident soon afterwards, Australian Stock Exchange-listed Triton Minerals said its graphite mine in Ancuabe, 45km west of Pemba, was attacked on 8 June by armed groups.

One of the most sensitive decisions facing incoming President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed is whether to confirm Coastline Exploration’s rights over a number of highly prospective offshore oil and gas blocks. Some important and influential forces would prefer development to proceed without the Houston-based indie’s involvement, but Coastline’s management is determined to hold on.

The government is expected pay debts owed by Liberia Electricity Corporation to Côte d’Ivoire, clearing the way for Liberia to start receiving power through the Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea (CLSG) transmission line. The move comes as Monrovia seeks a new approach to LEC’s management and funds to repair the Mount Coffee hydroelectric plant.

The oil and gas industry and local environmental campaigners are awaiting a ruling from the Gqeberha High Court in the Eastern Cape, following a three-day hearing on Shell’s offshore seismic survey plans which was adjourned on 31 May with judgement reserved.

Harare City Council (HCC) has suspended a joint venture with Dutch firm Geogenix, just a few weeks after the investor started work on a recycling facility and a 22MW waste-to-energy plant at the city’s Pomona dump site.

A month after demonstrators closed down parts of Libya’s oil production and export infrastructure, halving oil output in a protest against Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba’s refusal to hand over power, political and economic pressure is building at every point in the system. It remains unclear whether a deliberate financial squeeze will succeed in driving Dabaiba from office, or whether compromises can be found to get oil flowing again.