According to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya overtook Nigeria as the top African oil producer in March. The April 2024 monthly oil report published by OPEC said the North African country recorded 1.24 million barrels per day of crude oil in March, a 5.7% increase from the 1.17mbpd recorded in February. Nigeria recorded an oil output of 1.23mbpd in March compared to the 1.32mbpd produced in February. The March figure
Ivory Coast’s Oil Minister recently announced a significant milestone in the country’s offshore exploration efforts—a production-sharing agreement with ExxonMobil for two ultra-deepwater blocks in the Gulf of Guinea. The agreement encompasses Ivory Coast’s CI-602 and CI-603 blocks, spanning 3,874 and 5,543 square kilometers, respectively, and featuring depths ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 meters. Oil and Energy Minister Adama Toungara highlighted that each block has a maximum exploration period of nine years, with a potential contract
Multilateral financial institution the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is providing a $1 billion crude oil prepayment facility to Nigeria. Aimed at boosting the country’s foreign reserves, the facility will be released in May 2024. The loan represents part of a larger $3.3 billion crude prepayment facility, with Afreximbank having already disbursed $2.25 billion in January 2024. The country’s state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will repay the loan using revenue generated from crude sales. According to
South Sudan’s government has announced its plans to work with Qatari gold firm United Gold Factory to establish mining marketing stations in mineral-rich areas in the country. The marketing stations will be used to organize small-scale mining enterprises in South Sudan and facilitate the trade of refined extractive resources. The marketing stations will also serve to formalize the mining sector, improving working conditions and hours, wages as well as health and safety concerns. In addition
According to the April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya emerged as the leading African crude oil producer in March, surpassing Nigeria. The data revealed that Libya produced 1.236 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, up from 1.173 million bpd in February. On the other hand, Nigeria recorded a production output of 1.23 million bpd in March 2024, compared to 1.32 million bpd in February.
French multinational TotalEnergies is facing scrutiny over its plans to resume natural gas extraction in Mozambique’s conflict-ridden Cabo Delgado region, potentially violating the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), according to NGOs. Following a terror attack in 2021, TotalEnergies, along with ExxonMobil and Eni, halted operations in Cabo Delgado. However, during a recent presentation of its 2023 annual results, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné announced intentions to restart operations in Mozambique this year. NGOs, including
World oil demand continued to slow down in the first quarter to 1.6 million barrels per day, 120,000 barrels less than initially forecast, mainly due to developments in richer countries, Energy International (IEA) announced yesterday. In the monthly report on the oil market released yesterday, the IEA indicates that, for the whole of 2024, the increase will be 1.2 million barrels per day, a value that will fall slightly to 1.1 million in 2025, although
The World Bank has granted Nigeria’s Federal Government a $750 million loan to offer subsidies to developers and operators of solar mini-grids in areas across the country that lack electricity access. The loan, approved under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, aims to increase the supply of electricity to households and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through private sector-led distributed renewable energy initiatives. The financing agreement for the loan was signed
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) announced the unexpected resignation of CEO Ari Epstein on Thursday, as reported by the AWDC’s board of directors. While Epstein, who served as CEO for 13 years, declined to comment on the reason for his departure, Belgian financial newspaper De Tijd cited conflicts between the diamond sector and the Belgian government over Russian diamond sanctions as a possible cause. The AWDC, Belgium’s primary diamond industry group, has not yet
Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy revealed that TotalEnergies and Shell are likely to have discovered offshore oil and gas reserves in commercial quantities, potentially totaling billions of barrels. Both companies previously announced “significant” discoveries offshore Namibia earlier this year and are currently assessing the findings. While specific quantities were not disclosed, a Reuters source suggested that Total’s discovery exceeds 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. These discoveries could position Namibia as the latest oil
