Arnold Ekpe announced in a statement he will be quitting Atlas Mara in December 2016. Former chief executive of Barclays plc, Bob Diamond, whom he helped establish the Africa-focused investment vehicle will take his seat as interim when he leaves. The statement which revealed the news did not indicate why the former chief executive of Ecobank was standing down. “It has been a privilege to...

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's two largest crude oil producers, said they're ready to cooperate to limit output, helping send prices to a one-year high. Agence Ecofin spoke with Francis Perrin (photo), the chairman of Strategy and Energy Policy and the Editor of Arab Oil & Gas. Agence Ecofin:Let me start by asking that Saudi Arabia has long relied on oil to fuel its economic growth and...

The Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has announced that it will not rush the auction of the 17 new oil exploration blocks made recently even though stakeholders’ interest are increasing. According to the Principal Secretary for the Ministry, Andrew Kamau, these 17 blocks will in the future be sold at the right price and to the right investor. “Unfortunately, what we are seeing in a...

Tunisian National Railways (SNFCT) has selected Hyundai Rotem, the branch of the Hyundai Motor Group manufacturing rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment for a $188.4 million contract. In a statement, the South Korean company said it is to supply 112 electrical multiple units (EMU) to SNCFT in the second half of 2018. The EMUs will be used on the RFR suburban network, linking...

Dar es Salaam announced it got from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) $258.82 million to develop a power interconnection transmission line linking it to Kenya. The 400 KV line will be built over two years by Bouygues Energies & Services, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ldt and Energoinvest. It will be 510 km long and connect Isinya...

Royal Dutch Shell has appointed Peter Costello (photo, right) as its new Vice President for Nigeria and Gabon. Peter Costello succeeds Markus Droll who has been the Vice President since 2013. He transferred to Shell after the merger with BG in June 2016. “I come to Nigeria with high hopes of what we can do to build on the excellent work that I’ve met on the ground. Shell Companies in...

Tanzania has revealed plans to commission a plant by 2025 to process as much as 11.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. The East African country has at least 57 tcf of natural gas reserves and the Ministry of Energy in its plan has estimated that the country can regain as much as 70 % of the resource. It also sees total demand at 32.5 tcf over 30 years, with 8.8 tcf intended for power...

Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Saudi Aramco has announced that it notified the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, (EGPC), in early October that it would stop the supply of refined oil products to Egypt, a government official revealed. “Aramco informed the EGPC early this month of its inability to supply Egypt with shipments of petroleum products,” the official said not disclosing the...

SDX Energy in its operational update on the initial discoveries from the interpretation of the 300 km² of 3D seismic data acquired over its South Disouq concession in H1 2016, announced that the data set has identified several leads and prospects in the Abu Madi section and also the Kafr El Sheikh formation, as anticipated. According to the company, data processing began in June and the...

Senegal’s government announced it secured a 32.5 billion CFA francs loan from Islamic Development Bank for Sonacos S.A. (formerly Suneor). The facility which will help better structure marketing of groundnut, will be used to settle payments to farmers by the end of October, APS said. The financing comes for Sonacos S.A. at a vital moment as it is overwhelmed by debts, few months only after it...