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Eni’s major oil discovery in offshore Block CI-101, announced on 1 September, is a rare point of optimism for the Ivorian upstream sector, with estimates it could hold up to 2bn barrels of oil, potentially transforming the country’s production profile to one more akin to neighbour Ghana.

The installation of the 0.9MW pilot turbine at the Dongola wind energy project (WEP) has been delayed “towards the end of the year”, owing to delays in the “construction of the foundations”, Emergya Wind Technologies (EWT) chief marketing and sales officer Rob Van De Veerdonk told African Energy.

Once again, Brazzaville has been suffering from a lack of petrol, with some drivers queueing for hours to fill up in the last month. As usual, African Energy’s Brazzaville correspondent reports, there was no official announcement to tell consumers.

Work has started at the 25MWp Bangui solar PV and battery plant, the World Bank Group (WBG)’s Boris Ngouagouni told African Energy.

Alongside the change of energy minister in mid-September, President Samia Suhulu Hassan replaced the board and senior leadership of Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco). The national utility’s new managing director Maharage Chande previously worked at MultiChoice Africa, which owns cable TV channel DStv, where he was Tanzania managing director and then regional managing director for East and West Africa.

The announcement that ArcelorMittal had finally agreed with President George Weah’s government to expand the Luxembourg-based steelmaker’s iron mining and logistics operations in Liberia was especially ill-timed for Conakry, coming days after Colonel Mamady Doumbouya’s coup d’état, which removed President Alpha Condé.

Work on the construction of a 294km 132kV transmission line connecting Kole, Gulu, Nebbi and Arua, and associated 132/33kV substations at each location, is 40% complete.

Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) state company Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) was “in good health”, hydrocarbons minister Jean-Richard Bruno Itoua told an African Energy correspondent.

French developer Qair and infrastructure investment fund Stoa Infra & Energy on 8 October announced a joint venture platform called Make It Happen In Africa Holding (MIHIA).

African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) has raised an additional R5.5bn ($370m) for its Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)-focused Ideas Managed Fund.

The state-owned Administrative Capital For Urban Development – the developer of the New Administrative Capital being built 35km east of Cairo – has contracted a subsidiary of the Ministry of Military Production (MMP) to install 16MW of rooftop solar panels in the complex. At the end of September, it ordered Benha Electronics Company – also known as Military Factory 144 – to implement the project.

Sonangol opened bids on 15 October for the contract to design, build, own and operate an oil refinery at Lobito in Benguela province, with a capacity to process up to 200,000 b/d. Proposals were received from five groups: Lanpec Technology (China) with International Business Development Group (US); Gemcorp Holding with Omatapalo Engenharia & Construção; HBMP General Trade and Provision of Services with Avic International Beijing and China Huanquiu Contracting & Engineering; Layher Company; and GazMin International.

Controversy continues to dog financing from China, the world’s largest bilateral lender by a distance. Its debt provision has transformed the African funding landscape over the past two decades: according to African Energy Live Data, $38bn of Chinese investment was committed to power projects across the continent between 2014 and 2019 alone.

Almost 11GW of planned generation capacity, with an estimated value of $9bn, is in jeopardy if China carries through with President Xi Jinping’s pledge to end state financing of overseas coal projects, according to calculations based on the African Energy Live Data platform.

Independent power producer (IPP) Solgas Energy has connected its flagship project, the 5MW Cross Mabale power plant in Hwange, to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority grid.