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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.

The first units of the three gas-fired power plants under construction in Tripoli, Misrata and Tobruk will shortly be commissioned, according to statements from General Electric Company of Libya (Gecol).

As African countries seek to use their resources more productively, cobalt may be a prime example of a natural resource, now only exported as a raw material, that could spur industrialisation. But much depends on whether weak governments in host countries can manage such a transition.

Less than a year from elections, numerous candidates are eyeing up the prize of taking over from President Muhammadu Buhari. 

President Abdelmajid Tebboune has created a new version of the Conseil National de l’Energie (CNE), a body first created in 1995 to bring together senior military/security, energy and other officials to advise the head of state on critical sector issues.

One of the most ambitious claims to emerge from COP26 was that substantial public financing commitments from wealthy nations would unlock a much larger amount of international and domestic private finance. But numbers reviewed by African Energy reveal that there is a staggeringly large finance gap to bridge in Africa.

Recent wide-ranging diplomatic efforts have been directed at trying to set up Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) with developing countries. But it is still far from certain which countries (if any) will sign up, and what commitments wealthy nations can make to ensure success.

Arguments are intensifying over climate justice, the very meaning of climate finance, the role of gas as a transition fuel and – most of all – money. The combination of which means a ‘just energy transition’ that enables African nations to meet economic development targets seems a long way off.

What is believed to be the first shipment of phosphate rock from Western Sahara to Israel docked at Ashdod port on 29 March, on board the bulk carrier Keremcan Oba. It is not clear who the buyer is. While the shipment is thought to have involved a relatively small cargo of around 5,000 tonnes, it is a further sign of rapidly-evolving economic and diplomatic links between the two countries.

Ongoing squabbles between backers of Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and Power Market Limited (PML) have paralysed the development of the power sector in Malawi, according to developers. Although PML started operations in 2020 and nominally took over the single buyer role last year, Escom still controls the bulk transaction and stabilisation account for the sector, often referred to as the master accounts. This gives it a high level of de facto control over the sector, including offtake agreements.

Ignoring pressure on him to stand down, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dabaiba has authorised the Ministry of Finance to pay for a major new oil refinery in south-west Libya. The project is already the subject of an intricate financing scheme

Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Mustafa Sanalla says outgoing Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba’s Government of National Unity (GNU)’s failure to pay the national oil company’s budgets means oil production could fall at any moment – and there is no scope to increase gas exports to Italy.

Both BP and Eni have been looking to offload their stakes in major Russian energy assets in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, with Algeria mooted as a potential buyer for one key project.

As Europe looks for alternative sources of natural gas to replace its current dependence on Russia, Italy may be best placed to gain additional export volumes from Algeria thanks largely to Eni’s historic commitment to the country. The depth of this relationship is again being  demonstrated as chief executive Claudio Descalzi shepherds through the deal to take over BP’s stakes in the strategically important In Amenas and In Salah gas projects. Lacking a similar depth of commitment, the UK-based major is pulling back perhaps a a consequence of the of the 2013 Jihadist attack on the Tiguentourine complex at In Amenas.  Read  African Energy analysis of Algiers’ response to Europe’s energy crisis.

Supporters of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara have described it as an act of realism which places Madrid at the top table of decision-makers. However, for other observers, the decision is puzzling.