Far Ltd has announced that the 2C oil contingent resources estimates for the SNE oil field have been increased by 14% to 641 Mmbbls. This is in line with a new, updated Independent Resources Report on the SNE oil field completed by RISC after the successful drilling of two extra appraisal wells, the BEL-1 and SNE-4.  The SNE contingent resources in RISC’s Independent Resources Report...

Cobalt International Energy Inc., has announced that the planned $1.75 billion sale of a 40% interest in two offshore oil blocks in Angola to Sonangol, has been terminated. According to the company, the agreement was terminated due to failure by Angolan government to approve the deal within a year, Reuters reports. “As the requisite Angolan government approvals were not received within...

Global consulting firm McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) said in its “Women Matter” report, the first looking at the importance of gender in Africa’s elites that the continent still has a lot to do in terms of gender equality. “Gender equality is still far ahead,” Lohini Moodley and Tania Holt, two associates of the firm in South Africa, told French Newspaper Jeune Afrique....

According to statistics from Morocco’s Tourism Observatory, 4.2 million tourists have visited the kingdom in the first half of 2016 ended in June. This represents a 2.6% decrease compared to the same period the year before. The number of foreign tourists who have visited Morocco over the period has indeed decreased by 5.6%, while arrivals of Moroccans from the Diaspora increased by 1.7% only....

“Over the first seven months of 2016, Algeria’s trade deficit reached $11.93 billion against $9.43 billion in 2015 during the same period. This deficit thus rose by 26.5%.” This is what reveals data released by Algeria’s National Centre for IT and Customs Statistics (CNIS in French). At the root of the surge in deficit is the drop in exports which plunged from $22.1bn...

The Federal Government of Nigeria said it will inject in its national power transmission network $1.5 billion, by 2019. The investment falls under a 5-year extension programme implemented by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and which aims to increase the network’s transmission capacity to 11,500 MW. This will be achieved through the step-by-step implementation of 59 projects....

In a statement published on August 22, 2016, South African telecom giant MTN announced that it was selling 4% of its capital to local black investors. The transaction which involves the firm’s ordinary shares will take the form of an IPO entitled MTN Zakhele Futhi. Estimated to R9.9bn (US$730,620,000), MTN’s offer will be launched next month. Only black investors with a certain number of...

In Senegal, cassava producers will sow 13,000 hectares in 2016. According to the Minister of Agriculture, the area should give rise to an output of around 500,000 tons. If attained, the output will be a new record for the country which last year achieved a similar feat by producing 439,871 tons of cassava over a cultivated area of 7,500 hectares. “This record was achieved with the support...

Israeli-Ivoirian firm Star Energie and Chinese firm China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) signed on August 20, 2016 in Beijing, an agreement to produce power in Cote d’Ivoire. The agreement foresees the construction of a 372 MW combined cycle thermal plant at Songon, in the suburb of Abidjan. The plant will mainly have two combustion turbines and a vapor turbine. This will...

In Botswana, Tlou Energy on Tuesday announced that it has renewed its agreement with General Electric and IK Holdings for the supply of gas-to-power solution for the country. The African-focused company said the deal signifies that Tlou and its partners will share infrastructure and technical support. Tlou has been given the go-ahead by the government of Botswana to discuss the gas supply,...