VAALCO Energy has recently announced that the North Tchibala 1-H well, the first development well drilled by VAALCO, has been brought online at a rate slightly in excess of  3,000 gross bo/d; approximately 750 bbl/d net revenue interest to the company. The well was drilled to a measured depth of approximately 11,160 feet, targeting the underdeveloped Dentale reservoir, which...

FAR Limited an Australia-based exploration company with assets in West and East Africa, has said that operator Cairn Energy and its Senegal joint venture partners have begun a new 3D seismic 2,603km² surveys over its Sangomar Deep, Sangomar and Rufisque permits, offshore Senegal. Energy-pedia reports The Polarcus Adira 3D seismic vessel is to secure data in the northern...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated, in a communiqué published on 15 September, that the growth of the Senegalese economy should speed up to reach 6% in 2016, thanks notably to an ambitious development plan launched by the government, increasing trade exchanges with Mali and the drop in oil prices on the international market. This West African country, which remains one of the...

"Missié Madam" is the new web series coproduced by Côte Ouest Audiovisuel, African leader of distribution of audiovisual contents, and the production company Originale Entertainment led by Ivorian producer and TV director Erico Sery. For its first broadcast, the web series will be launched on a YouTube channel of the same name. This is a comedy with 2 famous Ivorian actors: Laurent Ibo, better...

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced, in a communiqué published on 16 September, having given the green light to a disbursement of USD 11.8 million in favour of the Central African Republic (CAR), in the framework of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). This envelope should allow the government to tackle urgent balance of payment requirements and support its...

The record level of the cashew crop in Guinea Bissau this year softened the economic impact of the political crisis that the Portuguese-speaking country is currently experiencing. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stresses that, "up until now, there is no clue pointing to the fact that the latest developments of the political news have had a significant impact on the economy which was...

In Côte d'Ivoire, producers and co-operatives operating in the cocoa sector could benefit from mid-term financing in order to rent lorries for the transportation of their production. This initiative is the result of a partnership between Cargill and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC). The loan, of a three years tenor, is offered at a discounted rate to co-ops which took part in the...

Mohamed El Kettani, CEO of Moroccan group Attijariwafa Bank, believes that it is absolutely “necessary to revive the demand for credit” in the Moroccan economy. To reach this goal, the group has adopted proximity policy. “Our banking branches are reaching out to markets to revive the demand for credit. Every day, about 10 cities are combed through by our caravans”. The other strategy of...

GB Minerals Ltd, a Canadian mining company listed in Toronto, has completed a new feasibility study, it announced on 14 September, on the Farim project in Guinea Bissau on which a low-cost operation of high grade phosphate is projected for a period of 25 years. The study concludes a final product with a 34% concentration and final production of natural phosphate of 1.32 million tons per...

Predictive Discovery Ltd, listed on ASX, announced on 15 September, excellent progress by its joint-venture partner Toro Gold in exploration of assets, above all on the Kokoumbo permit located in the south of Côte d'Ivoire. The company disclosed the discovery of a trending high in gold content covering an area of 2km2 in the historical mining sites in the locality of Kokoumbo and of the...