BP on Tuesday announced the commencement of activities at its In Salah Gas project in Algeria. The Southern Fields project is a joint venture between Sonatrach, BP and Statoil. It is the most recent stage in the development of seven gas fields in central Algeria. It includes the development of four dry gas fields: Gour Mahmoud, In Salah, Garet el Befinat and Hassi Moumene. In Salah Gas joint...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has announced that it is prepared to finalize current gas projects aimed at connecting gas-to-power and gas-to-industries in order to increase the nation’s economy. Speaking at the Senate Committee on Gas oversight visit to the NNPC Towers in Abuja, the Group General Manager, Gas Infrastructure Development (GID), Farouk Said, said NNPC is at...

French industrial firm Alstom announced in a release published on February 15th that it was going to provide 26 Citadis tramway kits to Cital, a joint-venture including Alstom (49%) and two other Algerian state-owned companies, Métro d’Alger (10%) and Ferrovial (41%). The 26 tramways were ordered Cital by Métro d’Alger for Sétif. They are to move on a 15.2Km-line which should be...

On February 15, 2016, the world renowned Beninese-born singer Angelique Kidjo confirmed her place at the top of world music as she received another Grammys Awards, one of the most prestigious music prizes awarded yearly in the United States. This is the second year, consecutively, that she wins a Grammy for Best World Music Album. This year, it’s with “Sings” that she gets the award. It...

Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Bijan Zangeneh (photo), has said that his country is eager to develop relations and export crude oil as well as petroleum products to Ghana. This is coming after the conclusion of a meeting with Ghana’s Minister of Petroleum Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah in Tehran. Zangeneh said the two countries have prepared a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will be sign...

In a release published on the official website of government of Benin, gouv.bj, the Presidency announced the launching of construction of Benin Smart City, the country’s first digital area. The first stone was laid by President Boni Yayi on February 11, 2016, in Cotonou. This project falls in line with the “government’s ambition to make digital economy a pool of development and a weapon to...

Nigeria is currently holding discussions with oil companies and banks in order to raise funds for new drilling as well as pay back about $4 billion in arrears that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has amassed for years of mishandling. The Minister of State for Petroleum, Emmanuel Kachikwu said that he wants to boost production to 2.5 million bpd at end of the year as it...

In Kenya, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has announced the reduction in the prices of super petrol, diesel and kerosene. The price of super petrol throughout the country was decreased by Sh2.14 per litre, diesel by Sh8.82 per litre while kerosene reduced by Sh6.51 per litre in the just released pump prices for February 15 to March 14, 2016. The Commission said the maximum retail pump...

There has been an increasing agreement amongst members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that a decision must be arrived at on ways to stop the global decline in the prices of crude oil price. As a matter of fact, the prices of crude oil have dropped by over 70 % nearing $30 per barrel in the last 18 months as OPEC have refused to reduce production in...

A release dated February 11, 2016 from the Guinean government discarded concerns regarding the future of the South Simandou project. On February 10, Rio Tinto, the major stakeholder in the project, announced a net loss of $866 million and depreciation of the Simandou project as a result of prices of iron falling. After taking note of the 2015 report the firm sent it, the government...