Cobalt International Energy group has announced plans to farm-out its 40% interest in Angola’s Blocks 20 and 21 to third parties, following the withdrawal of Sonangol from the agreement. According to the company, its Chief Executive, Tim Cutt, met in late July with the head of the state-owned company, Isabel dos Santos (photo), to negotiate the sale of the two stakes.During the meeting, the...

In Mozambique, Sasol is currently reviewing the possibility of constructing a pipeline to connect the liquid processing facility (LPF) on land to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit off the coast of Inhambane province.The aim of this investment is to diversify outflow alternatives as it exports the natural gas it has been extracting from the Pande and Temane wells since 2004...

Uganda’s government announced its intention to amend land act to make it easier for the State to take over private lands for infrastructures and other development projects in the country. Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Betty Amongi said the amendment will be soon brought to parliament. The amendment which simplifies expropriation procedures for public use should help...

Nigeria’s hospitality revenues should reach $507 million by 2020 thus beating 2015’s $321 million. This was revealed in a report on Nigeria’s tourism from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released last week, local media said. In its report, PwC associates the increase to that of overnight stays and of corresponding average price. In addition, new hotels are being built across the...

Global fast-food leader McDonald’s continues its expansion in Morocco. The US fast-food chain just opened two new restaurants along one of the country’s most used highways, knowingly the Casablanca-Rabat axis, L’Economiste revealed. With this, McDonald’s now has a total of 39 fast foods across 15 towns of the Cherifian kingdom with 3-4 restaurants opening in a year. The firm’s goal is...

Tunisian Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, Yassine Brahim, during the recent plenary session that took place at the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (ARP) cleared all ambiguities related to provisions of the new investment code. The main focus was the article 5 of the new legislation. “The government has no intention to allow foreign investors to...

In Tunisia, the issue related to collective land management which was to resolved over five years is about to be solved. The Assembly of Representatives of the People (ARP) has in fact adopted during a plenary sitting on July 28, 2016, a draft law on the status of collective lands in Tunisia. Amended on various articles by the government and presented during the vote by the Minister of State...

Libya is getting ready to ship its first oil after months of instability have affected the export of crude oil in the country. According to the National Oil Company (NOC), the country will again witness the export of crude oil which was ceased by war, political infighting and jihadi attacks. “Now we will begin working to restart exports from the ports that were closed and from the fields that...

Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo (photo), the Former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has officially assumed office as the Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria. According to a statement from OPEC, the new Secretary-General was on August 1, 2016, officially handed over to the 14-member cartel’s...

Egypt's Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) has initiated an international tender for oil and natural gas exploration in 10 sectors in the southern regions of the Gulf of Suez and Western Sahara. According to the Company’s chairman, Sherif Sousa, the deadline for presentation of bids is on November 30.He added that the sectors included in the bidding process are; Western Gebel el...