The Federal Government together with Shell and the Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) are expected to sign the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the $13.5 billion ZabaZaba Deepwater project in Q2 of 2017. This is coming as NAE, at the beginning of this month started receiving bids for the development of the oil field which had been planned a few years ago, but was later postponed...

Oil tanker drivers in Nigeria have embarked on a nationwide strike over low wages and poor roads. The drivers, which commenced the strike on Monday, have threatened to stop supply until their requests are met. According to the chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association (PTD), Salimon Oladiti, aside from low wages and poor quality of roads, the drivers are also protesting against...

Missouri American Energy, a leading United States modular refinery investor, has set aside $200 million to launch Nigeria’s first modular refinery with a production capacity of 20,000 barrels per day in Delta State. This was disclosed by the President of the company, Henry Iwenofu, while leading a delegation of top officials to Abuja. According to him, $200 million has been...

Tunisia’s State Secretary to Land Domains and Public Affairs, Mabrouk Korchid, announced last Thursday that the State recovered 14,000 hectares of agricultural lands which were illegally occupied by what he terms as “terrorists”. “The recovery of these lands follows reports regarding the matter sent by governors of the concerned regions”, Korchid indicated. Tunisia’s government...

In Morocco, the High Court of Casablanca condemned on March 28th, Karim Abdelghni who was charged for forgery of documents used in the spoliation of two plots of lands in the Maârif area. The accused received a 12-years prison sentence, L’Economiste reported. Though it might seem severe, the condemnation intervenes in a particular context. Indeed, Morocco’s King, Mohammed VI, has recently...

Mauritius’s economy should expand by 3.8% in 2017, against 3.5% in 2016. This was announced last Thursday by the National Statistics Institute of the country. The performance will mainly, according to the office, be driven by a boost in the manufacturing and construction sectors. According to the agency’s forecast, manufacturing production in Mauritius should rise 1.1% this year, in...

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Friday announced that it has shut down the Nembe Creek Trunk Line which exports Bonny Light crude oil, one of Nigeria’s crude oil grade. According to the Managing Director of SPDC, Osagie Okunbor (photo), the company is working to “remove a significant number of oil theft connections and repair any leaks on pipeline”. “SPDC will work with...

The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to start selling foreign exchange to the Bureau de Change (BDCs) market twice a week and boost their liquidity by 20%. “In line with its pledge to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange market, the CBN will from Monday, April 3, 2017, commence twice a week FOREX sales to licenced Bureaux de Change in the country. Licenced BDCs are henceforth required to...

A spokesman to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki (photo), has said that Nigeria will forward its oil governance bill to the Senate on the 25th of next month. This is in line with efforts to overhaul the energy sector. “Barring any last minute changes, the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas), will on 25th April lay the final report of the Petroleum Industry...

The Nigerian Government has initiated talks to secure a $150 million loan from the World Bank to kick-start the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) Project. This project aims to revive the ailing mining industry. Kayode Fayemi (photo), Minister of Mines and Steel Development, who disclosed this in Abuja, said that the Board of Governors of the World Bank is...