Africa

Africa’s top three oil producers discuss oil market and sliding crude prices

March 17, 2015 | Africa, Commodities & Oilprice

Algiers, Algeria | – Algerian Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi has held discussions with the visiting Angolan Petroleum Minister, Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, and Nigeria’s ambassador to Algeria, Haruna Ginsau, to assess the current oil market situation marked by sliding crude prices. This meeting among Africa’s top three oil producers and exporters “is part of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s initiative aimed at strengthening dialogue and consultations among all oil-exporting countries, both members and non-members of OPEC,” Yousfi told journalists after the closed-door meeting at the Energy …

Russia’s Rostec wins contract to build oil refinery in Uganda

February 18, 2015 | Africa, Government & Regulations, Refining & Processing

Kampala, Uganda | — A consortium led by Russia’s RT Global Resources has won the contract to build and operate Uganda’s $2.5 billion crude oil refinery, the energy ministry said on Tuesday, in a vital step to hasten oil production. The east African nation struck hydrocarbon deposits in 2006 but commercial production has been delayed and is not expected to start until 2018 at the earliest. Wrangling over taxes and the viability of the refinery have delayed crude production. Uganda plans to build the refinery to process its hydrocarbon reserves, estimated at 6.5 billion barrels, which lie along its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. “RT …

Niger makes new 43 million barrels crude discovery

February 12, 2015 | Africa, Exploration / Discoveries

Niamey, Niger | – Landlocked West African country, the Republic of Niger has made a new crude oil discovery estimated at about 43 million barrels in its Bilma field, the president of the 17.83 million uranium rich nation said late Wednesday. A major uranium miner but one of Africa’s poorest nations, Niger started pumping oil in 2011 from its Agadem bloc, a joint project with China National Petroleum Company (CNPC). President Mahamadou Issoufou said the Bilma reserves will be exploited in the same framework as Agadem. Reserves at Agadem, …

Tullow Oil plans to drill its first exploratory oil well in Kenya this year

January 21, 2015 | Africa, Company Operations

Nairobi, Kenya | – Tullow Oil Kenya, the local subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange-listed multinational Tullow Oil plc, plans to drill its first exploration oil well in Elgeyo Marakwet in western kenya later this year, as the company continues to expand its oil and gas search to new areas in the country. Speaking during a meeting with Elgeyo Marakwet leaders in Iten on Monday, Tullow Oil Kenya Social Performance Manager Rob Gerrits said the oil firm had already conducted environment and social impact assessment …

Tullow Oil refocuses funds to maximize existing Ghana prizes

January 21, 2015 | Africa, Company Operations

London, UK | – British independent oil & gas exploration and production group Tullow Oil plc is one of many operators cutting its exploration spending plans for this year but is reallocating a chunk of its capital to maintain its momentum offshore West Africa, where it is committed to delivering high-margin oil production via its existing producing assets and discoveries offshore Ghana to help it generate long-term cash flow for its future business. The UK independent’s CEO, Aidan Heavey, said ahead of the company’s financial …

Mozambique must speed up LNG projects, reforms to maintain growth says IMF

January 08, 2015 | Africa, Government & Regulations

Johannesburg, South Africa | – Mozambique must complete contract negotiations for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and also fast track key structural reforms to maintain strong economic growth, the International Monetary Fund said this week. The IMF forecasts the southern African nation’s economy to expand by 7.5 percent in 2014 from 7 percent the previous year, but said delays in implementing reforms to tax administration and public financial management could hurt medium-term growth. The 2014 forecast is down from a previous projection of …

Ivory Coast signs deals with ExxonMobil for two oil blocks

December 17, 2014 | Africa, Licensing & Concessions

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | – Ivory Coast has signed production sharing agreements with oil giant Exxon Mobil for two ultra-deepwater blocks in the Gulf of Guinea, the West African nation’s oil minister said. The deal covers Ivory Coast’s CI-602 and CI-603 blocks, which cover 3,874 and 5,543 square kilometres respectively and vary in depth from 3,000 to 4,000 metres. “The maximum exploration period is nine years for each block and, in the case of a commercial discovery, the length of the contract will be 25 …

Malaysia’s Petronas says open to selling assets in Africa

December 16, 2014 | Africa, Mergers, Acquisitions & JVs

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | – Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Malaysia’s state oil company, said it is ready to divest certain assets in Africa if growth prospects are limited. “We are looking at where we can divest in Mauritania and Cameroon,” Sharbini Suhaili, vice-president for Petronas’ international upstream operations, said at a media briefing on Thursday. Petronas has one block in Mauritania producing 6,000 barrels of oil a day, and several gas assets in Cameroon, he said. Unlisted Petronas, which accounts for most of the Malaysian …