Focus AFRICA
Zenith Energy, which bought the former owner of the Tilapia licence, AAOG Congo, in May, is facing competition from seven other companies interested in the oil field, much to the ministry of hydrocarbons' delight as it hopes to raise the bidding. [...]
With elections just around the corner, Interior Minister George Simbachawene, who used to be the energy minister, had the heads of the country's three biggest oil marketers arrested as part of a crackdown tied not only to dwindling fuel supplies but also to pre-poll image management. [...]
The Norwegian group Yara is using a mix of grants and infrastructure builds to promote its interests to African governments, who largely call the shots on how much fertilizer their countries order. [...]
Under the leadership of its chairman Adonis Pouroulis, Australian junior Golden Rim Resources will join the Kada gold project alongside Turkey's Vetro Gold, a subsidiary of Turkish businessman Zafer Topaloglu's Toya Group. Topaloglu has been planning a partnership with Pouroulis in Guinean gold for more than a year. [...]
Through Equus Mining, US company Blox is taking legal action against Penta Goldfields, which it suspects of having manoeuvred to get control of its Mansounia gold permit. Penta's boss, however, has for several years been Blox's country director in Guinea! [...]
