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Afren says it has passed information to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after an investigation uncovered new concerns over expenses payments. In a statement released late on Friday 20 March, Afren said reporting the concerns was a condition for the provision of interim funding from bondholders to keep the indebted company afloat. The concerns arise from an investigation by Willkie, Farr & Gallagher (WFG) regarding the hire of an individual in 2012, and the payment of travel and accommodation expenses connected to Afren’s activities, the company said.

A tightening of visa rules is scheduled from 15 May to give intelligence services more time to assess visitors to Egypt. Individual travellers will have to apply for a visa at their local consulate, rather than picking one up on entry. Reuters quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Badr Abdelatty as saying: “The system remains unchanged for tourist groups, which can obtain visas at airports, but individuals have to get a prior visa from embassies.”

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that bidding documents should be available by end-March for work supported by a $420,000 Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa grant for Jumeme Rural Power Supply, which plans to develop off-grid solar hybrid systems in at least 16 villages in north-western Tanzania. Jumeme is a joint venture between Germany’s Inensus, Austria’s TerraProjects and St Augustine University in Mwanza.

Soco International has postponed a planned well on the Mer Profonde Sud (MPS) Block until 2016. Soco completed a farm-in to the block in 2014, taking 60%, while Sweden’s PA Resources retained 25% and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo 15%. The Swedish company had been keen to secure a new partner after Murphy Oil pulled out in 2012, arguing that the rest of the block had further exploration potential in a different structural setting and play from the other wells already drilled on the block, targeting reservoirs similar to those producing from fields in Congo and in Angola.

The World Bank is seeking a consultant to develop a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy, funded by a grant from the Africa Renewable Energy Access programme. The government has undertaken several energy efficiency programmes over the last few years, including distribution of compact fluorescent bulbs to replace incandescent bulbs in 2010, the implementation in 2013 of ripple control to remotely turn on and off domestic hot water heaters and the development in 2008 of guidelines for energy efficient building design that are yet to be implemented, as well as public awareness programmes and energy audits of public institutions.

Greenpeace has served papers to energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and finance minister Nhlanhla Nene through the sheriff of the Pretoria High Court in an attempt to force the government to update its decade-old nuclear liability regulations. A court date will be set, and Greenpeace senior climate and energy campaign manager Melita Steele told African Energy that the organisation hoped a judgement would be reached this year. Greenpeace said in a statement that South Africa’s nuclear liability regulations were “completely inadequate” having not been updated since May 2004.

The beheading of local guards and the kidnapping of foreigners at the Ghani field by units allegedly part of Islamic State (IS), and their destruction of facilities at this and other fields, has obliged National Oil Corporation (NOC) to shut down and abandon most of the south-west Sirte Basin. Local oil workers are now reluctant to work at locations in the desert unless more Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFGs) with better equipment are deployed. If the attacks continue, there are two main ways that the situation could deteriorate.

An initiative to bring local authorities, business and consumers together to develop the distributed supply of electricity to Cameroon’s many isolated communities was launched in Yaoundé on 10-13 March. The Invest’Elec initiative is supported by regulator Agence de Régulation du Secteur de l’Electricité (Arsel) and the European Union. They are seeking to establish a public-private partnership (PPP) model based on projects that use off-grid solutions to build integrated generation-distribution systems. The focus is on distributed mini-hydroelectric and biomass projects, seen as most appropriate to Cameroon’s resources base, and a few solar projects in the Far North region.

Local community groups have reached agreement with the developers of the Kinangop wind park in the Rift Valley following the latest protests over compensation and health risks. Since construction of the 60.8MW project began in July last year, Kinangop’s development has been dogged by protests from local people who say they were not properly consulted over the project development and that compensation provisions are insufficient.

The amount of oil that can be recovered from fields in western Uganda has emerged as a key issue in negotiations on production licences between the government, Tullow Oil and Total. Minister of energy and mineral development Irene Muloni told the East African Petroleum Conference in Kigali on 4 March that, of 6.5bn barrels of oil in place, the companies were proposing to recover only 1.4bn. Ministry permanent secretary Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa told reporters the government was looking for a recovery factor of at least 25%. He said he hoped the talks would be concluded within three months.

Allegedly corrupt dealings with the former Libyan regime are continuing to cost implicated companies dear more than four years after the start of the February 2011 revolution. On 19 February, Canada’s SNC-Lavalin Group announced in a statement to investors that corruption and fraud charges levelled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada were “without merit”. It said it would “vigorously defend itself and plead not guilty”. President and chief executive Robert Card said that “the charges stem from the same alleged activities of former employees from over three years ago in Libya, which are publicly known, and that the company has co-operated on with authorities since then”.

Wide-ranging reform of Angola’s power sector is making progress, but with the economy heavily dependent on oil revenues, investment plans could be significantly slowed. Angola-watchers suggest the effects on the domestic economy of sharply lower global oil prices, coupled with the continued uncertainty over veteran President José Eduardo dos Santos’ succession plans, may create a ‘perfect storm’ that could hasten the long-awaited regime change.

The Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) scandal has claimed another victim with the resignation of energy and minerals minister Sospeter Muhongo, the third cabinet minister to go since the latest round of allegations emerged late last year. In December, attorney-general Frederick Werema resigned and President Jakaya Kikwete sacked lands minister Anna Tibaijuka for accepting almost $1m from an IPTL shareholder.In late November, a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by outspoken MP Zitto Kabwe called for Muhongo and prime minister Mizengo Pinda to resign.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has agreed to pay out $84m to residents of the Bodo community for two of the Niger Delta’s largest oil spills, which took place in 2008 and 2009. Some $54m of the settlement will go to around 15,600 fisherman, while the remaining $30m will be left for the community. Outgoing SPDC managing director Mutiu Sunmonu said the company accepted responsibility for the spills, both of which SPDC admits were caused by operational failures of the pipelines.

Mozambique has emerged from an election year with a record of improving the regulatory environment for its oil and gas sector. President Armando Guebuza’s outgoing government – to be replaced by a probably similar Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) administration led by Filipe Nyusi – has passed several key items of legislation, geared towards encouraging Eni and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to reach their final investment decisions in 2016. In August, passage of a new Petroleum Law, to replace 2001 legislation, brought increased clarity and coherence to the sector, while in October, the state Instituto Nacional de Petróleo offered 15 blocks to interested investors.