N°699 - Paris, 21/05/2013
Benjamin Augé
GHANA Editor in Chief
Oil advances undercut by politics
Six months after his election, Ghana’s new president, John Mahama Dramani, hasn’t made the least headway on oil and gas issues. A challenge to his election before the Supreme Court by his leading rival, Nana Afuko-Addo, has held back any important decision, and created a logjam that weighs heavily on the industry. (...)   [660 words]  
   
 
MADAGASCAR
Total waves goodbye
   Africa Energy Intelligence understands that Total recently decided to withdraw from the Bemolanga permit on Madagascar’s block 3102 which it has operated since 2008. (...)
 [260 words]  
 
CONGO-B
Gunvor buys into PA Resources
   Trading giant Gunvor is now the leading shareholder in the junior PA Resources which produces oil from the Azurite field.  (...)  [247 words]  
AFRICA
Thiam beats drum for Alex Stewart
   Guinea’s former mines minister Mahmoud Thiam actively promotes the services of the oil auditing concern Alex Stewart in Africa. It turns out he’s also a business associate of the firm’s CEO.  (...)  [269 words]  
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Soco & CNPC in running for block A
   The turmoil in Central African Republic in recent months hasn’t blunted the enthusiasm of oil companies to explore CAR’s sedimentary basins.  (...)  [351 words]  

Abuja    Drilling on OPL 245 set for this summer
 [128 words]  
AFRICA
Mercuria in quest for investors
   The Swiss trader Mercuria, which is firmly entrenched in Africa, is on the lookout for new investors. Among companies it has approached is Thailand’s PTT.  (...)  [218 words]  
AFRICA
IPOs seem back in vogue
   After Oryx Petroleum’s unsuccessful initial public offering on the Toronto stock exchange, next on the list are Caracal Energy (formerly Griffiths International) and Nigeria’s Seplat.  (...)  [238 words]  

 
NIGERIA
A first gas guarantee
   Stalled since 2011, a World Bank project to guarantee sales of gas by the majors to Nigerian power plants has swung into action.  (...)  [317 words]   FREE
 
BENIN
Bengaz & Gasol push barge plan
   The idea of anchoring a re-gasification barge off Benin’s coast is gaining traction. And local investors have the means to put pressure on the government.  (...)  [312 words]  
ANGOLA/CONGO-K
Tie-up for Chevron & Perenco
   A meeting was held in Kinshasa in early May between officials from Perenco and the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC/Chevron) to decide how to use gas currently torched by the French firm in Democratic Republic of Congo.  (...)  [264 words]  


CONGO-K
Buffet’s son joins Virunga project
   The son of the renowned American billionaire has agreed to help finance power stations in the natural reserve in eastern Congo-K and Rwanda.  (...)  [231 words]  
NIGER
Watch on Russians at Kandadji
   The government is taking strong measures because of setbacks encountered by a Russian firm building the Kandadji dam.  (...)  [225 words]  

Kigali/Bujumbura    EU bankrolls interconnection
 [178 words]  
MALI
Electricity for embattled north
   The conflict in northern Mali has had an impact on power infrastructure. However, an improvement can be expected following a pledge by donor countries meeting in Brussels on May 14 to put up €3.  (...)  [274 words]  

GABON/EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Nicolas Michel
   According to our sources, the United Nations mediator in the territorial dispute over ownership of the potentially oil-rich Mbanie islet between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea has resumed his duties.  (...)  [172 words]  
WEST AFRICA
Anthony Sage
   The chairman of International Petroleum (IP), Anthony Sage, is to step down on June 30. Very close to IP’s founder (see above), Romanian-origin Frank Timis, Sage will nonetheless continue to run Cape Lambert Resources.  (...)  [86 words]  
 
AFRICA
Jay Park
   Chad’s lawyer at the Norton Rose office in Calgary is no longer with the company. The name of Jay Park has been quietly dropped from the firm’s Web site.  (...)  [192 words]  
 
SOMALIA/NIGER
Chris Hopkinson
   Although merger talks between International Petroleum headed by Frank Timis and Peter Landau’s Range Resources haven’t yet been completed, the identity of the new firm’s managing director seems in no doubt.  (...)  [135 words]  

LIBYA
NOC
 [114 words]  
 
CHAD
CNPC
 [113 words]  
 
ANGOLA
Sonangol
 [88 words]  

CHAD
Griffiths again suspected
   Several irregularities were pointed out in a new report for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative concerning Chad in 2011 and drafted by Fair Links, a company specializing  (...)  [190 words]  
 
GABON
Obangue workers win
   According to sources in the president’s office in Gabon, negotiations between workers on the Obangue field at the oil ministry wound up at the end of last week.  (...)  [206 words]  
 
SOUTH AFRICA/CONGO-K
Pretoria to fund Inga hook-up
   In a new presentation of the Inga 3 project (4,800 MW) to donors in mid-May in Paris, Congo’s energy minister, Bruno Kapandji, confirmed that all transmission lines between the dam  (...)  [93 words]  
UGANDA
New bill gains traction
   Publication of Uganda’s new oil legislation has speeded up reforms in the sector.  (...)  [161 words]  

NIGERIA
Yaroson & Partners
 [86 words]  
 
NIGERIA
Elbit System
 [74 words]  
 
CHAD
Canaccord Genuity
 [143 words]  

IVORY COAST
Trafigura’s lost $2.1 million
   Kevin Halligen, founder of the security firms Red Defense and Oakley, was sentenced to 42 months in jail on May 17 for illegally obtaining $2.  (...)  [211 words]  
 
CAMEROON
Verdict soon for RSM
   An arbitration tribunal which is due to decide on a dispute pitting the American oil company RSM Production against Cameroon’s government will hand down its definitive verdict in  (...)  [133 words]  
 
NORTH AFRICA
Viking seeking funds
   The Turkish drilling company Viking Services is currently raising money to build up its business in Kurdistan but also in North Africa where it hopes to offer a low cost alternative  (...)  [120 words]  
AFRICA
$50 million for Circle Oil
   In a shaky financial position following the freeze on assets of its leading stakeholder, Libya's LOHL fund, the explorer Circle Oil has received a lifeline from an unexpected quar  (...)  [232 words]  

Lagos
Abiye Membere
 [74 words]  
Malabo
Gabriel Obiang Lima
 [68 words]  
Kinshasa
Francois Misser
 [102 words]  

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