The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo will start building the Inga III hydropower dam despite not conducting environmental impact study and World Bank disapproval. According to the Ngo International Rivers, this was told World Bank’s representatives by Bruno Kapandji, head of the Inga project agency. “Inga III was developed to respond to a need. It is a Congolese project,...

Wafa Insurance, subsidiary of the Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa Vank has disclosed last week, its new three-year strategy baptized “Oufouq 2016-2018”, Moroccan press revealed. The strategy is paired with a new internal organization, with the appointing of a new delegate director general, Taoufik Benjelloun Touimy, previously deputy director general in charge of the finance department....

In South Africa, Sunrise Energy is currently constructing a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) terminal and import infrastructure in Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape, to ease the shortfall of LPG and meet possible future needs for gas-fired power plants as well as other industrial energy requirements. The project, which is worth R1.2-billion, is designed to import LPG from tanker ships berthed at a...

Sasol which began drilling its first well in its new oil and gas field last week, has said that Mozambique’s debt crisis will not affect its $1.4 billion gas project as it will fund all expenses and recover them through gas revenues. Mozambique has acknowledged nearly $1.35 billion of secret government loans in recent weeks, thereby making the country fall into a foreign debt crisis,...

In South Africa, the Energy Department has raised the pump price of petrol by 52 cents per litre for all grades while diesel is to increase by 76 cent per litre from June 1. The main reasons for the spike are the continued upward march of international petroleum prices and the weakening rand / US dollar exchange rate.In April, petrol 95 and 93 (both ULP & LRP) increased by 88 cent and 86...

Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production fell by nearly 50% from the beginning of 2016 to about 1.1 million bpd due to attacks on oil pipelines by militants in the Niger Delta region, a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) official revealed. According to this official, the series of attack on most oil pipelines and production facilities in the western division of the Niger Delta...

In Niger, Soraz oil refinery is to resume the export of petroleum products, putting an end to a monopoly held by Sonidep since 2011. “Soraz and Sonidep are authorized to jointly export refined products. After meeting domestic needs, the excess production will be split 50-50 between the companies,” Foumakoye Gado (photo), Energy Minister, told Reuters. Soraz is a joint venture between the...

The Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa has opened an office in Montréal, Canada. Expressing himself for the occasion, the group’s CEO, Mohammed el Kettani justifies the expansion with the need to support Moroccans’ economic activity wherever they may be. He added that an office will be opened soon in Geneva, according to the Tunisian website ilboursa. The Canadian office adds to...

Kenya obtained a $600 million loan from China to finance its budget deficit, Reuters said on May 26, citing the representative of the International Monetary Fund to Kenya, Armanda Morales. “The deal for the loan is finalized and Kenyan authorities expect the money in the next two weeks,” he said without giving further details. A senior treasury official said in April 2016 that the...

There is a possibility that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at its meeting in Vienna on June 2, 2016, will select a new head to replace the current secretary-general. OPEC is closing in on a substitute for, Abdalla Salem el-Badri, who was supposed to have retired since 2013 but stayed since the group has not been able at a decision to choose a new leader. According...