Lucara Diamond Corp today announced the recovery of an extraordinary 1,094carat rough diamond from its 100% owned Karowe Mine in Botswana. This remarkable stone bears striking similarities to the 692 carat diamond announced in August 2023, which was polished by HB Antwerp and yielded polished diamonds that sold for in excess of USD13 million. Lucara confirmsthat this newly recovered 1,094 carat stone will also be polishedby HB Antwerp, as part of the ongoing partnership between
Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 122.20-carat rough diamond from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, marking the third diamond over 100 carats discovered in the past month and the 11th of its kind this year. The company recovered this high-quality, type II diamond on September 1, following the discovery of a 129.71-carat rough on August 23 and a 145.55-carat stone on August 3. Additional notable finds this year include a 212.49-carat rough in May and two
Rio Tinto has rescheduled its tender of run-of-mine rough diamonds from the Diavik deposit in Canada due to reduced production volumes. Originally set for September 30 to October 2, the sale has been postponed until after the Diwali holiday, which runs from October 31 to November 1, the company informed Rapaport News. Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales and marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamond unit, explained, “Geotechnical challenges at the mine in July and August
Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and commodities trader Trafigura are competing to acquire Shell Plc’s service stations in South Africa. The sale has also drawn interest from South Africa’s Central Energy Fund, which owns PetroSA, Sasol Ltd., and Oman’s OQ Trading. A decision on the winning bidder could be made by the end of the year, though it may extend into 2025. Shell is aiming to raise nearly $1 billion from the
Starting in October, Dangote Petroleum Refinery will begin setting petrol prices in Nigeria, moving away from government regulation. Reports indicate that the federal government plans to allow the refinery to determine its own gasoline prices, effective Thursday. “Nigeria will let Dangote set gasoline prices for petroleum marketers starting next month,” sources told Bloomberg. “Petrol marketers will soon be able to purchase directly from the Dangote Refinery.” Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on
HBS International, a Tunisia-based oil and gas company, is investing $65 million this year to enhance natural gas reserves and production in Egypt’s Western Desert, particularly in the southwest El Alamein area. This investment aims to increase the company’s natural gas output in Egypt by approximately 167% by October, reaching 40 million cubic feet per day, up from the current 15 million cubic feet daily. In response to fuel demands for power plants, the Egyptian
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, recently met with senior officials from French energy giant TotalEnergies. The delegation included Thomas Strauss, Managing Director of TotalEnergies Marketing Egypt, and Pascal Breant, Managing Director of TotalEnergies E&P in Egypt. The meeting focused on TotalEnergies’ activities in Egypt and their plans concerning the recent EGAS bid for 2024, which seeks to explore and develop oil and gas in 12 sectors across the Mediterranean and the
South Sudan and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are negotiating the construction of a new oil pipeline through Ethiopia to Djibouti, aimed at enhancing South Sudan’s export capacity. This development follows South Sudanese President Salva Kiir’s visit to China, where he met with CNPC officials to discuss reforms in South Sudan’s oil sector. These reforms include improving oil production by establishing a new refinery and expanding distribution networks. During his visit, President Kiir also participated
UTM Offshore Ltd. has received approval to build Nigeria’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, five years after its initial proposal. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority issued a license-to-construct for the LNG project, which has a capacity of 2.8 million metric tons per year. Farouk Ahmed, head of the regulatory agency, noted that the approval represents a significant milestone and supports the government’s gas expansion goals. Nigeria, Africa’s leading crude oil
The onshore Buzi block in Sofala province, Mozambique, is projected to start natural gas production by 2026, with plans to power a thermoelectric plant in the region. Rudêncio Morais, research and production administrator at the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH), revealed that assessment activities are underway to finalize the development plan, expected to be submitted to the government by the end of 2024. Morais shared this information during the II Indonesia-Africa Forum in Bali, highlighting the
