Morocco’s only refinery, Samir, has been granted an additional six months by a Moroccan court to resume production and attract a buyer during a court-ordered insolvency. The 200,000 bpd refinery ceased production in August 2015 as a result of financial difficulties and afterwards a court ruling placed it in bankruptcy and then named an independent trustee to operate it but they have not been...

Uganda plans to award production licences for six blocks to Tullow Oil and Total E&P Uganda before the end of June, the country’s state minister for minerals to be, Peter Lokeris (photo), revealed.“Everything is set. Before the end of the month, we shall issue licences for six blocks. At the moment, I cannot divulge more details but just know that Tullow Oil and Total E&P will be...

The West African Gas Pipeline Company (Wapco) has announced that it postponed the flow of gas from Nigeria to Ghana due to arrears owed by the Ghanaian government. According to Wapco spokeswoman, Harriet Wereko-Brobby, Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana's state power producer, owes N-Gas about $180 million while N-Gas on the other hand owes the Pipeline Company $104 million.She added...

Former vice president of DR Congo, ex-challenger of Joseph Kabila and business mogul, Jean-Pierre Bemba was found guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes, rape, murder and pillage, and convicted to 18 years of imprisonment by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The court judged Bemba responsible of the large scale murders and rapes perpetrated by his gunmen in Central Africa, between...

Billionaire Aliko Dangote lost $3.7 billion on June 20 as naira plunged sharply after Nigeria allowed its currency to trade freely without a peg to the US dollar. Africa’s richest thus fell 25 places in Bloomberg’s billionaires ranking, from 46th on Friday to 71st on Monday. Dangote’s net worth which is presently valued at $12.7 billion is derived from a 91% stake in Dangote...

Zimbabwe’s state-owned Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) has produced, since March 2016 where it started its activities, 513,000 ct of diamond. In February 2016, the government evicted all diamond mining companies operating in the Marange zone, as they refused to merge into a single entity by joining ZCDC. According to the government, the licences of these firms expired. Ridge Nyashanu,...

The Mastercard Foundation just granted $12 million to Microcred to launch a financial inclusion program in Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Madagascar. The news was revealed on June 20, 2016 at a press conference held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The program, which falls under a partnership agreement between the two institutions, aims to provide access to financial services to more than 1.2...

Rob Shuter is MTN’s new CEO. This was revealed by the South African firm in a press release published on June 20, 2016. Still in contract with British firm Vodafone (as CEO), Mr. Shuter will officially take office in July 2017. He will be replacing Sifiso Dabengwa who left in November 2015, after MTN Nigeria was fined with $5.2 billion. In its statement, MTN explained its choice by...

Iran has held talks with Egypt regarding the resumption of crude and oil products exports to the Middle Eastern country. According to the Deputy Director of Iran’s Petrochemical Employers Association, Parviz Sahafzadeh, some companies from Egypt are looking to import Iranian petrochemical or polymeric products.“Given the sanction removal and entry to post-sanction era, the grounds...

Otto Energy has signed an agreement with MV Upstream Tanzania (a joint venture between Vegas Oil & Gas and Motor Oil Hellas-MOH), regarding the farm-out of a 25% participating interest in the Kilosa-Kilombero Licence, onshore Tanzania. Under the agreement, MV Upstream will pay $2.3 million to Otto Energy for a 25% participating interest in the licence as compensation of historical costs...