South African banking group Standard Bank was just awarded a banking licence in Cote d’Ivoire. The licence for Standard Bank Cote d’Ivoire (Stanbic Cote d’Ivoire) was green-lit by a Ministerial Order signed by Adama Koné, Minister of Economy and Finance, in agreement with the WAEMU’s banking commission. Standard Bank had a representative office in Cote d’Ivoire since 2014 but no...

The government of Tunisia announced it is selling a 35.529% interest in Adwya. This stake corresponds to a block of shares which was re-purchased by the new government from the Princesse El Materi Holding, which was renamed El Kerema Holding and which is now the transferor in the new operation. The transaction is opened to Tunisian and foreign companies and individuals. Interested investors can...

Four companies have been granted tenders to supply the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) with 11 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipments between June and August.The companies are: Trafigura, Royal Dutch Shell, Rosneft and PetroChina. Trafigura is to supply five LNG shipments, Shell will supply three, Rosneft two while PetroChina will supply just one. EGAS in May, issued a tender for a...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is increasing efforts to ensure a successful operation in the current search for crude oil in the Chad Basin as well as in other parts of the Inland Sedimentary Basin. According to the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru (photo), the search for hydrocarbon deposits in the Chad Basin would involve extensive analysis of some allocated...

In Nigeria, two scientists from the School of Arts and Science (SAS) of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) successfully converted plastics into fuel. According to the Daily Trust, the groundbreaking research is the fruit of Prof. Ifeoma Joseph and one of her students from Rwanda, Emmanuel Bucyannayandi. The two scientists produced liquid oil from waste plastics with high density...

Five international oil companies have shown interest in acquiring Circle Oil’s 40% interest in the North West Gemsa concession located in Egypt’s Eastern desert. These companies including BP, Kuwait Energy, and Rockhopper are currently contending to acquire the stake. According to a government source, the company is looking to sell of its stake in the concession as the Egyptian General...

In Tanzania, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals has announced that the government has implemented a bulk procurement system for the importation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the country.This system is to take effective from September this year. According to the deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Juliana Pallangyo (photo), all interested parties are free to...

Partners on the Rhourde Ouled Djemma and satellite fields in Blocks 401a/402a have entered into an agreement to renew the production sharing contract (PSC) for the field for another 10 years. The partners include BHP Billiton, Eni and Sonatrach. This agreement which is subjected to a final approval provides the companies, the opportunity to complete the unitization process to join the Sif...

The number of companies seeking for licences to import natural gas from overseas has risen to five, the Assistant Vice Chairperson at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) revealed. According to Amira El-Mazni, four companies applied to acquire the licence earlier while the fifth company applied just last week.She said that these companies are both Egypt-based and international firms...

Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom, has announced that works on a $4 billion cooperative natural gas project between the country, Djibouti, and China will soon be launched. According to Adhanom, the project consists of a natural gas pipeline, a liquefaction plant, and an export terminal at Damerjog, Djibouti. He added that the project is one of numerous areas of cooperation between...