The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) – a development finance organization established under the Private Infrastructure Development Group – has invested €11.5 million via a senior secured loan for the construction of an integrated solar and battery storage project in Senegal. Dubbed the Walo facility, the 16 MW solar facility will comprise a battery energy storage system with a capacity of between 10 to 20 MW. The project will be constructed and thereafter operated by
As part of the recently agreed deal between Botswana Government and De Beers Group, the diamond mining giant will continue to support Botswana’s diamond beneficiation efforts. The company will partner with one of its sightholders to set up a state of the art jewellery manufacturing facility in Botswana. De Beers Executive Vice President – Diamond Trading Paul Rowley said on Tuesday July 4th that the facility will initially create 200-250 jobs and it will deal
Driven by a surge in market conditions, Ghana is expected to commence 17 oil and gas projects during the outlook period 2023-2027. The West African country’s upstream sector will see the development of three offshore fields, while its midstream landscape currently has nine projects in development, with the downstream sector involving the development of two refineries and three petrochemical processing facilities. A Surge in Upstream Investments As one of Africa’s fastest-growing hydrocarbons producers, offshore field
International drilling contractor Northern Ocean has announced that its Deepsea Mira high-specification semi-submersible drilling rig has successfully arrived in Namibia’s Block 2913B and has kickstarted drilling operations for French energy major TotalEnergies under a contract inked in December 2022. As per the terms of the contract, the rig will be utilized over a period of 300 days with engineering services firm Odfjell Drilling – which was also responsible for the preparation and transit of the rig
Namibia’s solar market is booming with the country attracting fresh investments and new players. With a focus on both grid-connected and off-grid projects, the country aims to connect 80% of its population to renewables by 2025. This surge is fuelled by strong regulatory support, abundant resources, a drive for diversification and the growing demand for decentralized power systems. Untapped Resources Blessed with 300 days of sunshine per year and offering a climate well-suited for solar
De Beers plans to partner with the Botswana government on exceptional diamonds under the parties’ new sales deal, enabling the country to derive more benefit from its priciest stones. The contract calls for opportunities to share an interest in the final polished revenue, said Paul Rowley, De Beers’ executive vice president for diamond trading, in an interview. These would be investments, meaning that Botswana would also take on risk, Rowley pointed out. “We all know that
Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 163.91-carat rough from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, its second 100-carat-plus stone this year. The miner discovered the “impressive” yellow diamond on June 22, it said Monday. The company found a 122-carat, “exceptional quality,” D-color, type IIa rough at Letšeng in March. Letšeng had previously been known for producing a large supply of rough diamonds over 100 carats. However, the number of stones in that category has been dwindling. Last year, the company
Independent Anglo-French hydrocarbon producer Perenco has started production at the South Kole Marine oil project located 50km off the coast of Cameroon. The project is now producing approximately 3,800 barrels of oil per day. The milestone follows an eight-month work program which required well architecture, pipelay and platforms to be installed. The program effectively proved the commercial viability of the marginal field. Located in depths of between 30 and 50m, the field was initially discovered by another operator
Ghana’s oil and gas industry has experienced significant growth following the discovery of commercial quantities of oil in the country’s Jubilee fields in 2007. As a result, the West African country has sought to leverage its immense hydrocarbon resources to position itself as a petroleum hub for the region. With 17 oil and gas projects poised for development between the outlook period 2023-2027, Ghana is set to become a world-class exporter of gas and petroleum products.
Since the start of the war, Saudi Arabia has been losing market share in China – the world’s biggest energy market – thanks to Russia selling its oil at steep discounts. And even a production cut in Saudi Arabia earlier this month did not have the desired effect of raising prices to compensate for falling demand. The chaos in Russia in recent days, in which the Wagner paramilitary group launched and then stopped an insurrection,
