The world’s largest diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905, was given to the British monarchy two years later and has been in its possession since. Some South Africans are calling for the United Kingdom to return the world’s largest diamond, known as the Star of Africa, which is set in the royal sceptre that King Charles III will hold at his coronation on Saturday. The diamond, which weighs 530 carats, was discovered in South
Impact Oil & Gas, a privately-owned exploration company, has announced the completion of a $95-million Open Offer, raising capital exclusively from its existing shareholders. The capital will be used to further appraise TotalEnergies’ Venus-1 discovery located in Block 2913B in the Orange Basin, as well as fund additional exploration activity in neighboring Block 2912. “We are pleased to see the $95-million open offer’s successful completion, having been fully taken up by our existing shareholders, who
The Nigerian government has decided to postpone the withdrawal of fuel subsidies, because of the need for further preparations and consultations with stakeholders, including the new government. Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, told the press that the Government agreed with the need for continued discussions on the matter, adding that states and representatives of the new government required more preparatory work. “The Council agreed that the time for removal of
The conditions have been met to allow TotalEnergies to resume its natural gas exploration project in the country, suspended since 2021, following a major jihadist attack, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi assured this week. At the end of March 2021, a coordinated attack on the coastal city of Palma forced the French group to suspend a €16.5 billion natural gas development project. Facilities still under construction on the Afungi peninsula were evacuated. “Cooperation and coordination with Total
Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, has come out on top as the leading crude oil producer on the continent, according to the latest monthly report from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The report indicates that Nigeria produced 1.268 million barrels per day (bpd) in March 2023, surpassing its African peers, Algeria and Angola, which produced one million and 972,000 bpd, respectively. However, the report also sheds light on Nigeria’s struggle to
Storm Mountain Diamonds, a subsidiary of Namakwa Diamonds, has recovered a 108.39-carat fancy pink diamond at its Kao mine in Lesotho. It said the rare Type IIa gemstone is one of the largest pink diamonds ever discovered. The Kao mine produced the 47.81-carat Pink Eternity in 2022; the 25.97-carat Pink Dawn and the 21.68ct Pink Palesa in 2021, as well as the 29.59ct Rose of Kao in 2018. Storm said the latest discovery reinforces Kao
The Mozambican Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, recently informed that the Government intends to invest around US$34 billion in generating more than 3,000 Megawatts (MW) of energy by 2030. Speaking in Washington, United States of America, in a lecture under the motto “United for Energy Security and Sustainability, Triple Victory in Regional Energy Trade”, Max Tonela stressed that Mozambique is outlining strategies aimed at attracting the necessary financial resources to exploit the high
Namibia’s Jonker-1X light oil discovery – made last month by partners Shell, QatarEnergy and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) – represents the third discovery in a string of Orange Basin exploration successes announced in the past year. Coupled with the Graff-1X and Venus-1X finds (made in 2022 merely weeks apart), leading International Oil Companies (IOCs) are proving the size and scope of Namibia’s deepwater hydrocarbon resources. As such, Namibia’s E&P sector is expected to attract
South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has granted French major TotalEnergies environmental authorization to conduct exploration activities in the offshore Block 5/6/7, located in an area approximately 10,000km² between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. The decision follows the conclusion of all prescribed procedural requirements by TotalEnergies, including public consultation and environmental checks, with the major expected to drill up to five exploration wells between Q4 this year and mid-2024. Representing a high-potential block –
Year-on-year inflation in Italy slowed to 7.6 percent in March, against 9.1 percent in February, thanks mainly to the slowdown in energy prices, announced the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat). The slowdown in inflation is mainly due to the deceleration in the prices of non-regulated energy goods (from 40.8 to 18.9 percent) and the fall in regulated energy prices (from 16.4 to 20.3 percent), whose effects were only partially offset by acceleration in unprocessed
