Cote d’Ivoire’s government just announced the reduction of export taxes for all cocoa-made products. This should help the country achieve its goal which is to process half of its output locally by 2020. According to the new policy which is soon to be effective, taxes on cocoa butter exports will drop to 11% from 14.6%. Those on cocoa paste from 14.6% to 13.2% while those on cocoa powder...

The French Development Agency (AFD) granted FCFA 26.238 billion (about $44.2 million) to member-countries of the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du fleuve Gambie (OMVG). The funds will be used to establish an interconnection line between Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Senegal. “The project, which consists in the development of a 1,677 km high-voltage interconnection power line,...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suspended its financial assistance to Guinea Bissau after authorities disbursed FCFA35.2 billion (about €63 million) from the State’s accounts to bailout private sector’s actors. This was announced in June by the multilateral institution, after one of its mission spent two weeks in the country. At the beginning of May, the government of Guinea...

On July 1, the Central Bank of Egypt said it paid Qatar back the billion dollars which was provided as deposits, during the term of Mohamed Morsi. According to the official Egyptian press agency, MENA, Egypt thus reimbursed all it owes the rich monarchy which supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which Morsi belonged to. During Morsi’s term (June 2012- July 2013), Qatar granted the Central Bank...

The government of Benin has decided to power all its ministries and the Presidency with solar energy. This decision falls in line with its strategy to cut power consumed by public institutions in order for more power to be available in the national grid. In 2010, public institutions consumed 89 MW which represented 40% of power supplied by the country’s power utility, the SBEE. Energy saved...

Aminex, in its operational update on the Kiliwani North Development Licence, announced that gas production from the Kiliwani North-1 well in Tanzania has reached 30 Mmcf/d with steady pressure recordings at that rate. According to the company, the commissioning process of the well is expected to be completed with the testing of the well, in order to point out the best rates. Aminex estimates the...

Lekoil in its operational update on the development of the OPL 310 block which contains the Ogo oil discovery, offshore Nigeria. Located in the Upper Cretaceous fairway that runs along the West African Transform Margin, the OPL 310’s main prospects besides the Ogo discovery are in water depths from 100 to 800 meters and are not far from the West Africa Gas Pipeline. In 2015, Lekoil increased...

In South Africa, the Department of Energy has announced that from July 5, 2016, the retail price of both grades of petrol will increase by about 11 cents per litre, while diesel will rise by about 42 cents per litre. According to the department, 95 unleaded petrol (ULP) and Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP) will rise by 8 cents per litre, while 93 ULP and LRP will increase by 11cents per litre....

The Niger Delta Avengers have resumed attacks on oil installations, claiming responsibility for five new attacks in southern Delta since Friday.Up until now, the group made any attacks in the Niger Delta since June 16.   According to the group, a pipeline connected to the Warri refinery operated by NNPC was attacked on Friday night. On Saturday night, two lines close to Batan flow station...

Libya’s rival National Oil Corporations (NOCs) have decided to merge in a move to regain the country’s oil industry, which has been injured by attacks, rival export attempts and also the shutting down of pipelines and oil ports by militants. The country’s main natural resource is oil, with reserves estimated at 48 billion bbls. Production fell after the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar...