In Cote d’Ivoire, Marcel Dezogno, a journalist, was arrested and put in custody at the military prison of Abidjan on February 8, 2016. He was arrested for having his phone ring during a court audience at military tribunal of Abidjan in the framework of the case of murder of former president, the late Robert Guéi. Tribunal’s president, Tahirou Dembelé, said the journalist disturbed the...

In Tunisia, biologic agriculture is booming. Truly, land dedicated to bio-agriculture will rise to 400,000-500,000 ha this year from 100,000 ha the year before; as for output it should reach 265,000 tons per annum. The country, second in terms of land dedicated to bio-agriculture behind Uganda, export most of its output. Indeed, about 80% of bio-output in Tunisia is exported. Germany is the...

Nigerian Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun (photo), plans to travel to Beijin next week to negotiate a $2 billion loan from the Chinese import-export bank (Eximbank of China) after postponing plan to reach out to the Eurobond market, Reuters reports on February 11, citing official sources. “The finance minister, in the company of the central bank governor, is scheduled to be in China...

Zenith Bank UK, the British subsidiary of the Nigerian bank Zenith Bank Plc, officially landed at the Dubai International Financial Center, official sources told Ecofin. This initiative is part of the firm’s strategy to position itself on the international market and cover more customers. “Dubai is an important strategic market for Zenith Bank and our international customers based at DIFC....

The South African assets management firm Investec Asset Management just announced the closing of its new private equity fund directed towards sub Saharan Africa at $295 million. Named Investec Africa Private Equity Fund 2 (IAPEF), the fund targets investments ranging from $15 to $40 million, greater than closing of its predecessor, Investec Africa Private Equity Fund,...

In Zambia, Engen Petroleum on Thursay announced the building of a new pipeline connecting the Engen depot in Lusaka to the government facility. “As Engen, our priority is to supply Lusaka as well as Southern Province and Eastern Province – particularly the capital, Chipata, which accounts for a large portion of Engen’s total fuel demand,” Jean-Blaise Ollomo, Managing Director of Engen...

In Ghana, Tullow Oil and its partners on the Jubilee field witnessed a 102,600 bpd production from the field in 2015. A steady rate of gas was reached after the commissioning of the onshore gas processing plant in March 2015, averaging 90 Mmscfpd in Q4 of 2015. Tullow, predicts the field’s average production for this year to be about 101,000 bpd gross, indicating the effect of a two week...

In Ghana, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has commenced operations ahead of the planned April 2016 target. TOR was shut down in April 2015 as a result of a major fault in the regenerative unit located in the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) plant, high arrears and the inability to acquire letters of credits. Situated in Tema about 24 km east of Accra, the refinery currently received 3...

Joint venture partners on the Aje shallow-water field, have announced that first oil from the field which was estimated to take place by the end of last month, is now expected by the end of March. The partners had formerly planned December 2015 for the commencement of production, but the objective was missed. According to Panoro Energy, final works has been concluded on the Floating Production,...

In Tanzania, Solo Oil on Thursday announced that it has increased its interest in the Kiliwani North Development Licence to 10%. The company had an initial interest of 6.175% in the licence and is to pay Aminex $2.16 million to increase the interest by 3.825% to 10%. A Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) was signed with the Tanzanian Petroleum development Corporation (TDPC) in early January and...