On July 18, the government of Ghana announced it has lowered its growth forecast for 2016 to 4.1% from 5.4%, due to irregular oil production. “These developments have taken into consideration the release of revised GDP figures for 2015, revision of gold production forecasts for 2016-18, and the shutdown of the (oil production vessel) FPSO Kwame Nkurmah,” said Finance Minister, Seth Terkper,...

“The only path for our region is the one we are tracing for it”. These were the words uttered by the Representative of King Mohamed VI of Morocco to inaugurate the second edition of the Mediterranean Forum for Climate (MedCop 22). Taking place on July 18 and 19, 2016 in Tangiers, Morocco, the forum which gathers the 22 countries of the Mediterranean zone aims to initiate virtuous...

Debts issued by the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) States and companies in the first half of 2016 amount to $6.9 billion, thus 10% down compared to the first half of 2015. This was revealed by data released on July 18 by Thomson Reuters and Freeman Consulting. Benefiting from extremely low interest rates and investors’ growing appetite for debt securities of emerging economies, Sub-Saharan...

State-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has revealed that it plans to postpone the deliveries of over 45 LNG shipments signed with companies and nations including Oman and Russia to the 2017-18 financial year. According to an EGAS source, the company is looking to import between 110 to 120 shipments of LNG in the 2017-18 financial year and has started preparing a timetable for...

Algeria has increased production at the giant Hassi Messaoud and Ourhoud oil fields, an official at Sonatrach revealed. According to the anonymous official, production at the Hassi Messaoud oil field, which is 800 km southeast of Algiers, has increased to 470,000 bbls from 420,000 bbls a few months ago while output at the Ourhoud oil field, located around 1,100 km southeast of Algiers, rose to...

Petrobel, has announced plans to add 70 million cubic feet per day of gas to its production from the Denise-Karawan (DEKA) offshore field in August 2016.The company, which is a joint venture between Eni and BP in Egypt, plans to commence production from a new well at the field, to make up for the natural production decline rate in the country. DEKA is centered on the Denise and Karawan gas...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) plans to boost domestic gas supply to 3 billion standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) by the end of 2017 and 7 billion scf/d by 2020. Domestic gas supply from the corporation as at January was at 1.3Bscf/d. By the end of June, the supply fell by more than 100% to 500 million standard cubic feet per day as a result of the renewed attacks on...

Libya's Sarir oil field has been shut down, due to the postponement of exports from the eastern Marsa el-Hariga terminal which have been closed by a subsidiary of the Petroleum Facilities Guard protesting over non-payment of salaries. The protest which began last week Wednesday, has resulted in the delay of two oil tankers at the port which has an export capacity of about 120,000 barrels per day...

Gabon’s railway concessionaire, SETRAG, received a €52.5 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to increase its capacity and improve the efficiency of the nation’s railway network. The 650km-long network connecting Libreville to Franceville links the country’s iron and manganese mines to international markets. SETRAG will use the loan to increase its...

KKO International, one of a few firms practicing intensive cocoa farming, wishes to purchase between 400 and 500 ha in Madagascar. Explaining its choice, KKO International said in a statement that “Madagascar’s cocoa is of high-quality” adding that the country “due to its potential for significant returns represents a privileged zone for cocoa farming”. Let’s highlight that the...