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Oando’s completion of its NAOC purchase has likely served to expedite the process of local players buying mature assets from IOCs – a precedent that bodes well for further deals, although challenges will still need to be worked through. Meanwhile, NNPC has signalled renewed focus on backing long-stalled LNG prospects, writes James Gavin.

Pretoria faces an arduous job in financing its energy transition, which could cost as much as $500bn over the next three decades. The number and size of investments have been limited to date and the scarcity of funding threatens to stymie the government’s climate change targets, but local lenders are now stepping up to bridge some of the financial gap, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Egypt Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly secured a $5bn pledge from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in mid-September, in what Egyptian authorities described as a “first phase” of investment. The plunging value of the Egyptian pound over the past few years has made deals significantly more attractive to Gulf investors and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s regime needs the financial support as much as ever.

Progress at all five of the large solar photovoltaic concessions first launched in 2019 is an indication that Tunisia’s renewable power sector may be moving forward despite extremely difficult political conditions. Scatec’s farm-out of a stake in its two projects to Japan’s Aeolus represents a major new commitment, backed by carbon credits along with debt financing.

Reforms to the way multilateral financial institutions approach project finance could help overcome some of the most intractable barriers to the electrification of Africa, including fears of default and high project financing costs which drive away many potential investors. To be meaningful, changes need to be principled and generally applicable, while also anchored in the often-messy reality of doing business across the continent. African Energy is publishing the first in a series of white papers on how this problem might be solved in a way which recognises Africa’s needs and the capabilities of institutions, without introducing moral hazard.

It may not be lending as much as in recent decades, but China retains a dominant position as an economic partner and political ally in Africa. President Xi Jinping is now trying to reposition his country as a source of ‘small but beautiful’ projects, but Beijing will fight to maintain its hold over resource flows, having built up a strong position in many markets that western rivals will find hard to shift, writes Jon Marks.

A small number of floating solar plants are already operating across Africa and over a dozen more are being planned. Advocates say the technology can not only generate power, but also expand the generation capacity of underperforming hydroelectric power reservoirs. As dams age and water becomes scarce, development finance institutions could a play critical role in funding the growth of a still-nascent technology, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

The concessional loan from German development bank KfW has enabled the project to expand from70MWp to 100MWp, with Chinese contractors now taking on the EPC work.

French asset manager Mirova has invested $15m in renewable energy company SolarAfrica, to support its commercial and industrial (C&I) projects in South Africa.

After Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board (ERB) refused to sign-off on a tariff increase, the government said alternative financing will be found to reduce the 20-hour blackouts caused by historically low levels of rainfall. State utility Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zesco) is facing a perfect storm, with its own generation output and export sales plummeting and public money in short supply as the government grapples with the impact of the drought and a longstanding debt crisis.

Building on funding commitments from the AfDB, US and EU, work is accelerating on the Angola-DRC-Zambia rail network. The Lobito Corridor’s first phase has already seen faster, cheaper exports of Copperbelt minerals and a feasibility study on a Zambian spur is due. Washington is now mulling support for a potential extension of the corridor to the Indian Ocean, which could compete with Chinese plans to rehabilitate the Tazara link, but might even lead to co-operation with Beijing.

Despite many challenges, local investors are continuing to make large bets on the mature assets being sold off by international majors. However, the wider economic environment is also difficult, with widespread protests laying bare the scale of the problems facing President Tinubu’s government, writes Leonard Lawal in Abuja with Marc Howard.

Russian sponsorship of Mali’s largest under-development solar PV plant has raised eyebrows in the industry. It represents an unusual departure for Rosatom and depends on the warm ties between Colonel Assimi Goïta’s regime and Moscow.

The failure to expand output at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)’s Agadem Rift Basin (ARB) acreage and the closure of the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline (NBEP) after it had just opened are bitter blows both for the economic programme of Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tiani’s Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP) junta, and for the project sponsors.

The leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are taking steps to create a new regional body to replace their former membership of Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) but it remains unclear how the plan will be organised and financed.