Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 113-carat rough from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the third over 100 carats this year. The miner discovered the high-quality, type IIa diamond on February 17, it said Monday. On January 17, the company retrieved a low-quality, 139-carat diamond from the site, and on January 8, it found a high-value, 295-carat, white, type IIa rough. The recovery of three 100-plus-carat diamonds so early in the year is a boon for
Namibia recorded a 9% increase in diamond production in 2023. The country produced 2,327 million carats of rough diamonds last year, up from 2,137 carats in 2022. Namibia’s land-based production, overseen by the diamond corporation Namdeb, recorded a 14% increase in 2023 compared to the previous year. The company produced 468,000 carats, up from 412,000 carats in the period under review. Meanwhile, the country’s offshore production in 2023, overseen by the marine diamond mining company
The Republic of Congo is a mature hydrocarbon market with proven resources, including 1.8 billion barrels of oil reserves and 284 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves. Despite this, the country’s on- and offshore territory remains underexplored and operators have been slow to add value to crude resources. However, a new gas monetization drive, coupled with several offshore exploration and development programs, presents investors with dynamic opportunities in gas processing and refining, LNG trade
The State-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has successfully acquired an additional 20% stake in the Mnazi Bay natural gas project, solidifying its total share in the venture at 40%. The deal, valued at $23.6 million, was finalized through a purchase agreement signed on February 10th with Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA, an oil company that holds an 80% stake in the project and maintains veto power over its operations. Under the terms of the
The announcement was made yesterday by Galp’s CEO, Filipe Silva. He detailed that by the end of March, the company will already have a clear view of the volume of oil reserves found in the first drilling off the coast of the African country. Galp announced the discovery of a “significant column of light oil” in a deeper zone of the first well drilled in deep waters. Next month, the company will conduct a DST
The Algerian oil and gas company, Sonatrach, has recently signed a medium-term contract with the gas supplier VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH (VNG) for the supply of pipeline natural gas to Germany. The agreement was finalized during a recent visit by a German delegation to Algiers. Rachid Hachichi, CEO of Sonatrach, expressed satisfaction with the strengthening of energy business partnerships with Europe through this significant agreement with VNG. He stated, “We are happy to strengthen
The Port Harcourt refinery in Nigeria has recently received a shipment of 475,000 barrels of crude oil from the energy supermajor, Shell. The shipment was facilitated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company, the largest fossil fuel company in Nigeria, utilizing its Port of Bonny Offshore Terminal. The crude oil was delivered to the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited. In a statement, Shell expressed that, “This milestone will support the government’s aspiration of a steady supply
According to the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), India is projected to play a pivotal role in driving global oil demand growth by the end of the decade, fueled by robust economic expansion, population growth, and demographic trends. The IEA forecasts that India will emerge as the primary driver of oil demand increase until 2030, closely trailing China in this aspect. It is anticipated that India’s oil demand will surge by nearly 1.2 million barrels
De Beers’ prices fell last year as a prolonged oversupply in the midstream and economic challenges weighed on demand. The company’s rough-price index, which reflects like-for-like values, dropped 6% for the 12-month period, parent company Anglo American reported last week. Sales volume slipped 19% to 27.4 million carats, with the average selling price sliding 25% to $147 per carat. While the company has not published its full-year revenue, rough sales decreased 36% to $3.63 billion,
Botswana has designated BWP 890 million ($65 million) from its new fiscal 2024-2025 budget for the purchase of a 24% stake in Belgian manufacturer HB Antwerp. The deal, which it first announced in March, calls for the African country to supply rough from state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) to HB Botswana for five years. The partnership would operate in a similar fashion to HB’s previous supply deal with Lucara Diamond Corp, enabling Botswana to retain
