Sound Energy has announced that it has signed heads of terms with Maghreb Petroleum Exploration to buy its 25% working interest in three onshore oil and gas exploration permits in the Sidi Mokter region of Morocco after its announcement on the 7th of September 2015. The Sidi Moktar Licences covers an area of 2,700km² in the Essaouira basin, central morocco. It comprises of a material existing...

Following applications for extension to the ministry of hydrocarbons in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the joint venture partners with Total E&P as operator have been told that the Block III licence has been extended to two years, SacOil disclosed. The exploration period of the block is extended from 27th of January 2016 to the 26th of January 2018. The added time will be used to...

As the decline in the prices of oil continues to hit Angola, the country anticipates growth for 2016 to decrease to 3.3%. "The government is expecting the price of a barrel of oil to drop to 45 dollars, taking into account the volatility of this product in the international market," Finance minister Armando Manuel (photo) told Reuters, giving details on government's subdued growth...

Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tomé e Príncipe will finalise, in December, a partnership proposal for the operation, in joint venture, of the oil in their shared border. The topic was at the centre of the a 48-hour state visit, from Sunday to Monday in Sao Tomé, by the Equatorial Guinean president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, leading an imposing delegation of 40 members. At the end of this...

Four projects have been identified as part of the creation of a phosphate processing industry in Algeria and will be undertaken in partnership with foreign companies. The projects are "currently under discussion with foreigners to produce phoshoric acid and different types of fertilisers", Mohamed Taher Bouarroudj, General Manager of Mines at the Ministry of Industry and Mines, confided in...

The West African Development Bank (WADB) has granted FCFA 35 billion to energy projects in Senegal. The projects concerned by this financing are the phase 2 of the construction of the Boucle 225 KV of the National Electricity Company of Senegal (SENELEC) and the electrification of 117 villages. 25 billion francs have been allocated to the construction of the 225 KV line. This infrastructure...

A new round has started in the trial of strength between the historical telecommunications operator Maroc Telecom and the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ANRT) on the unbundling of the optic fibre loop. The 15th October 2015 deadline given to Maroc Telecom by the telecom authority to publish its wholesale offer to the competition has come and gone. Maroc Telecom, once again,...

The government of Mali has signed a contract with Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd for the construction of a national broadband network. The works estimated at FCfa 35,213,172,169 should be completed within 15 months and are entirely financed by Eximbank China. The market awarded to Huawei is part of the “Broadband project for Mali”, on the supply to Mali of...

70% of Tunisian hotels have expressed their intention to close their doors, due to the deadly terrorist attacks which have scared off foreign tourists, announced Houssem Ben Azouz, an official of the Confederation of Tunisian Corporate Citizens (CONECT), an employer’s organisation created in 2011. Mr. Ben Azouz, who presides over the group of professional tourism within CONECT, equally claimed...

The BICICI (Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie) of Côte d'Ivoire, local branch of the French group BNP Paribas, has recorded a rather mixed financial performance during the first semester 2015. In an increasingly competitive environment, its net banking income increased 1.1% to FCFA 18.5 billion compared to the first semester 2014. Interest Margin increased by 1.5% and...