In response to concerns over emissions and ensuring cleaner fuel, five West African countries are banning European fuels with higher Sulphur levels. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), last week countries like Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast introduced severe standards that will enable cleaner, low Sulphur diesel fuels and better emission standards,...

The government of Sudan has delayed an extension to ONGC Videsh’s licence on Block 2B as it seeks higher royalties, tax and profit. According to officials, ONGC’s licence for Block 2B expired a week ago and an automatic 5-year extension to the licence was available, but Sudan, whose income had been affected by the drop in crude oil prices, wants higher taxes and royalties before any...

Russian oil firm Rosneft has announced that it is interested in an offshore concession in Egypt. According to the company, its board plans to hold talks regarding the purchase of a stake of up to 35 percent in Egypt's offshore Shorouk concession, on Wednesday. It however did not disclose a value for the stake. The offshore Shorouk concession includes the huge Zohr gas field discovered by Eni in...

Hyperdynamics has announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO) farm-out part of Hyperdynamics’ oil and gas concession offshore Guinea. Under the LOI, which is non-binding, SAPETRO, a privately held Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company, will take a 20% participating interest and pay 40% of the costs of the upcoming...

The Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo (photo), on Monday announced that the group will be meeting non-OPEC countries to finalize a global oil production cut agreement on December 10, 2016 in Vienna. This meeting, which is the first since 2002, had earlier been due to take place in Moscow but the plan was changed, two OPEC sources...

Apex International Energy has announced that it has been awarded Blocks 8 and 9 in the Abu Gharadig Basin in Egypt's Western Desert by the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) from the 2016 Bid Round. This is coming after the Ministry of Petroleum last week announced that it received six bids for oil and gas exploration worth a total investment of close to $200 million. “We are...

Seadrill Partners has announced that last week, it received a notice of termination from Tullow Ghana for the semi-submersible rig, West Leo. This is coming after Tullow in October declared force majeure, claiming the field that the rig was hired for, was subject to a drilling moratorium by the Ghanaian government, due to a maritime border issue. “Tullow has purported to terminate the...

Aminex in its operational update for the Ruvuma PSA and the Kiliwani North Development Licence announced that an independent assessment of the Caroil 2 drilling rig has been completed and the Ntorya-2 appraisal well is now expected to be drilled in mid-December. The Ntorya-2 well where the company has a 75% operated interest is situated 1,500-metre from the Ntorya-1 discovery which flow-tested...

Nigeria and Morocco have entered into a joint venture agreement to build a gas pipeline that will link the two countries and some other African countries to Europe. According to Nigeria's minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyema (photo), the agreement was signed during a visit by the Morocco's King Mohammed to Nigeria. He said the planned pipeline project would be designed with the...

The members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) made a historic agreement in Vienna, for the first time in eight years on a concerted production freeze at 32.5 million barrels per day in order to fast track the markets rebalancing and increase producers’ reserves. Ecofin Agency spoke with Francis Perrin, the chairman of Strategy and Energy Policy and the Editor of Arab...