Resources

DRC
Businessman Saifee Durbar sets sights on oil in spite of doubtful credentials

Having returned to the Central African Republic to work in the mining sector, the Indo-Pakistani businessman has expressed an interest in blocks 1 and 2 at Lake Albert. It's a move that has left the Congolese authorities wary.

Benin
Major Shell selected to export first Sèmè oil shipment

The Anglo-Dutch major has secured the symbolic rights to the Benin offshore oil field, where production – which had been suspended in 1998 – resumed this year. The field's operator, Akrake Petroleum Benin, must quickly renegotiate the terms of the deposit's development in order to continue its operations.

The New Guard
Ivory Coast, Somaliland, Kenya

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

Ivory CoastKouakou Anzoua Abissa, rising star of Ivorian finance

SomalilandMohamed Ibrahim, top geologist in Hargeisa

KenyaHarriet Okeyo, shaping the future of fishing

DRC, Morocco
Kinshasa pushes Mohammed VI's holding company to float its Congo Equipment subsidiary

The regulatory agency for private sector contractors has launched a wide-ranging review of outsourcing deals between foreign firms and local players.

Cameroon
US giant Tronox steps up work on its rutile projects

As Australian junior miner Lion Rock Minerals prepares to publish its first estimates of the mineral resources at Minta, the US investor is rallying government and administrative authorities behind the project.

Somalia
AUSSOM turns to Gulf states for financial lifeline

Despite Washington's apparent reprieve regarding the withdrawal of its financial contributions to the peacekeeping mission, the lack of a fallback plan threatens its continued operation. Mogadishu is doing its best to convince Saudi Arabia.

Sudan
Project to build drinking-water plant in Kordofan sparks divisions

In South Kordofan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's administration may put security concerns ahead of the civilian permits granted to NGOs, potentially depriving areas near the RSF of vital resources.