During the 2015-2016 red fruits season, the Larache province dedicated 4,000 hectares to the crops. Out of this area, 3,000 hectares were dedicated to strawberries while blueberries and raspberries were grown on the remaining 1,000 hectares, 500 hectares each. In terms of output, Larache produced 130,000 tons - 80% of total output in Morocco - for a turnover of 1.4 billion dirham. Most of the...

The International Monetary Fund said in a special note published on Feb 24, it planned to implement a safety net to help, financially, countries that export commodities whose prices are affected by current price plunge. To do this, the institution said it would develop “new financial mechanisms”. This option is part of a programme that integrates reforms and policies that aim to support...

On February 25, the CEO of BGFIBank Group, Henri-Claude Oyima, inaugurated the new office of its Brazzaville subsidiary. Present at the inauguration was President Sassou Nguesso and many other Congolese political figures and businessmen. Reviewing the activities of its group in Congo over the past 15 years, Oyima said BGFIBank Congo today, leads the market with 36% of its shares, be it in...

Subsea 7 on Friday announced that it has been granted a major contract by BP and partner Deutsche Erdoel AG (DEA), for the development of the Giza, Fayoum and Raven subsea fields offshore Alexandria, Egypt. The contract is the phase 2 of the West Nile Delta project, where the field development will be at a depths of approximately 800 metres. The contract includes engineering, procurement,...

SOCO International in its operational update announced that the Baobab Marine-1 commitment well in the Mer Profonde Sud Block, offshore the Republic of Congo was not successful. The well which is situated in the Lower Congo Basin, was spud by the deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II on the RR Prospect to a depth of 3,275 metres and encountered the targeted stacked early Miocene channel...

Sound Energy, has announced that the National 110 UE (1500 HP) traditional rig has been deployed for the forthcoming first well at its Tendrara licence area, onshore Morocco. According to the company, the rig was deployed from Mauritania and will arrive at the location in early March 2016. The Company also announced that it has been granted the final approval for the first and second Tendrara...

Eni on Friday announced that it has successfully spud a new well in the Nooros East exploration prospect, and the Zohr 2X well. The company spud the Nidoco North 1X well, in the exploration prospect of Nooros East, situated in the Abu Madi West license, in the Nile Delta, Egypt. The well encountered over 43 meters of net gas and condensates bearing sandstone layers of Messinian age with...

South Africa’s Minister of Transports, Dipuo Peters, will commission tomorrow, February 26, Africa’s first solar-powered airport. Indeed, 200 square metre of solar panels, generating 750kW of energy, were designed to supply the infrastructure. The first goal of this operation is to produce enough energy to allow the infrastructure to run on a daily basis. However, if power was generated in...

In a statement published on February 24, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said it would soon issue a $1 billion bond with a 3-years maturity period. The bank indicated that it has priced the bond due on March 4, 2019, at a coupon of 1.125%. Lead managers of the bank’s first USD global benchmark for 2016 are BNP Paribas, HSBC, JP Morgan and Nomura..   Rated AAA/AAA/AAA by...

Central African Republic is presently facing an outbreak of swine fever. The regional husbandry office of the Lobaye province announced that about ten pigs die daily to the outbreak. The institution added that the 55 vaccines it currently has will not enough to contain the outbreak. Pig farmers have launched a call to government and partners urging them to find an efficient and rapid solution....