China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) signed on October 25, 2016 a $770 million contract with the government of Guinea to expand the port of Conakry. Under the terms of the agreement, the Chinese group will build three new docks totaling a length of 846 linear meters, a parking lot able to receive 600 trucks, a 4km-long road and a 550m interchange. The project will be mostly financed by...

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has postponed to 2017 the launching of derivatives trading which was initially planned for this year, Reuters reported on October 24 citing the chief executive of the bourse, Oscar Onyema. “We think with all the work that is going on, that next year will be realistic in terms of beginning to roll out the full set of products,” said Onyema on the sidelines...

Egyptian authorities seized sugar stocks of Edita Food Industries, one of the country’s leading agro-food companies. The executive said it is confiscated about 2,000 tons of the commodity because the firm failed to provide invoices to prove their origin. Edita however denied the government’s claim and threatens to stop its activities in the country. “If it’s (the confiscation) going to...

The agency for air navigation safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) forbid the planes of Equatorial Congo Airlines (Ecair) from taking off since Oct. 10 because it failed to pay what it owes the agency. “Due to its debt, the management of ASECNA has forbidden the provision of all Ecair’s flights across all its platforms taking effect on October 10, 2016,” ASECNA said in a letter sent...

Nigeria is set to hold a meeting with community leaders and representatives of militants from Niger Delta next week in Abuja in an effort to put an end attacks on oil facilities in the region, two government sources revealed. Attacks by insurgents on the country's oil infrastructures by groups demanding for a greater share of the Nigeria’s oil wealth have reduced production, which was at 2.1...

Egyptian Oil Minister, Tarek El-Molla (photo), on Tuesday revealed that no confirmation has been received yet as regards when Saudi Arabia’s will recommence the supply of petroleum to the country. This is coming after supplies were postponed at the beginning of this month. “The contract is in effect for five years so whether it's interrupted for a week or a month or two or three the...

Dutch multinational commodity trading company, Trafigura, has offered South Sudan an advance payment of $10 million for November oil cargo and also to support the activities of the ministry. According to the Company in a letter addressed to South Sudan’s new minister of oil, Lol Gatkuoth, and the Minister of Finance, Hon. Stephen Dhieu Dau, requested in advance to be granted the November...

Kenya may be on the verge of losing its position as the desired petroleum products importation route for East African nations as Rwanda and Burundi have stopped the importation of their fuel needs via the port of Mombasa and have chosen to direct their shipments through Tanzania, Kenya Transporters Association revealed on Tuesday. This decision was as a result of the contamination of some...

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu (photo), has announced plans by the Federal Government to reduce its level of fuel imports by 60% in 2018. According to Kachikwu, one of the key areas in the road map for the oil industry is increased local refineries’ production capacity, through the execution of modular refineries and co-location, which is aimed at ensuring...

German pharmaceutical lab Merck opened a representative office in Cote d’Ivoire to serve French-speaking countries in West and Central Africa. “This new office will help us reinforce the activities we already have in Cote d’Ivoire. It will also be a hub from which we will develop our operations in French-speaking West and Central African countries,” said Merck’s director for North and...