The gold operator Barrick Gold announced on Thursday a new round of sale of assets, including to companies Kinross and Waterton Global Resources Management, for a total amount of USD 720 million. With USD 610 million, Kinross has the biggest share of this new round, by buying out all Bald Mountain assets in Nevada and the 50% shareholding Barrick Gold has jn Round Mountain. These new sales...

In Nigeria, Guinness has just been handed a fine of one billion naira (USD 5 million) by the agency in charge of food and drugs regulation. This penalty is for the destruction and re-validation of expired raw materials without prior approval, Reuters reports. The subsidiary of Diageo expressed its incomprehension on the origin of this fine and the particular law which has been breached. However,...

In Burundi, the cotton situation is like the political situation: in a bad position. Indeed, the country has seen its production go from 9,000 tons to 2,300 tons in the space of 20years (1993-2014). At the root of this situation, the continued drop in cotton prices which accentuated the disenchantment of producers for this crop. Pierre Claver Nahimana, who heads the Compagnie de gérance du...

In Nigeria, the Cross River State has announced the signing of an agreement with the company Thaï-Africa. According to the terms of this agreement, the Thai company will establish what will be the first African Rice city. The Rice City will mainly be dedicated to the production, processing and distribution of the cereal. It will have among other things a plant nursery, a rice factory, a seed...

Since 2 November 2015, journalist unions and media groups are showing their opposition to the new Penal Code of the Republic of Togo. The reason for this general outcry is in Article 497 of the new Code. Indeed, this article establishes prison sentences for journalists declared guilty of violations of the press laws. Until then, the journalist profession, governed by the Communication and Press...

In the Republic of Sudan, the Sudanese Ambassador to Russia, Nadir Babiker, has announced that the country is planning to boost oil output to 200,000 bbls/d in spite of the decline in prices globally. The country blames the 150,000 bbls/d decrease in production on the loss of the southern oilfield. According to Babiker, Sudan imports petroleum products like gasoline to meet the needs of its...

As a way of curbing the ongoing fuel scarcity in Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced the commencement of a 24 hour fuel supply in its depots nationwide. The Executive Director, Commercial of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Justin Ezeala stated that the company has obtained extended hours of operations for security purpose. “We are going...

The Bonny Gas Transport Limited (BGT), a subsidiary of Nigeria Liquefied and Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) is expecting a delivery of four Dual Fuel Diesel Electric (DFDE) vessels by the end of 2015. While speaking at the ship launch in Ulsan, Korea, the Vice President BGT and Managing Director of NLNG, Babs Omotowa (photo) revealed that the company had ordered for six vessels which were built by...

In Liberia today, ExxonMobil has announced plans to commence drilling on Block 13 situated off the coast of Margibi & Grand Bassa. The company had signed for Block 13, in 2003 but due to the Ebola epidemic in the country, it had put the project on hold. The Ebola epidemic had killed 4,800 people in Liberia and also discourage investors. The country was affirmed to be free from Ebola in...

Liberia on Thursday announced that it is on the verge of concluding agreement with Kosmos Energy Ltd for the lease of Block 6 and 7. According to the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) the negotiation for the two blocks initially awarded to Hong Kong Tongtai Petroleum International Corp., might go to Kosmos. The Product Sharing Contract (PSC) between NOCAL and Kosmos, is awaiting review...