tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3730354034177819352024-03-05T15:54:58.519+03:00The East African Energy BlogAfrican Energy & Extractive minerals related stories, issues, investment opportunities and analysis.
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-48571271920903698012014-09-08T10:27:00.000+03:002014-09-08T10:31:37.437+03:00Solar to make Kenya sizzle<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kenya is increasingly looking towards renewable energy as a source of power. This is attested by a number of low and high profile projects either underway or in the planning stages. A feasibility study for the use of solar as a source of power was concluded in 2012.<br />“We are looking at the possibility of generating between 10MW and 100MW from solar electricity in the near future,” says Thaddeus Kwoba, project engineer at the Kenya Electricity Generating Company.</span></div>
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<br />The company is focusing on Lamu and Kilifi regions at the coast as well as Garissa in northern Kenya to harness solar.<br />
<br />The country’s strategic location on the equator makes it ideal for solar power generation, says James Gachanja an infrastructure policy analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research Analysis, a body that advises government on policy on a range of issues, including energy.<br />
<br />The country receives a daily radiation of more than 6kWh/m<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>2</sup>, according the Energy Regulation Commission, the energy regulator in the country.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-69930877916285884722014-08-22T11:33:00.000+03:002014-08-22T11:33:04.292+03:00Electricity hikes stifle economic recovery in South Africa<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Eskom being a public company that monopolises the South African energy generation sector, Eskom’s business model allows it to be able to absorb under-recovery of revenue from its customers. “An increase in competition in the form of private sector companies into the industry would force Eskom to rethink their business model,” says Muneerah Salie, industry analyst for energy and environment at Frost & Sullivan Africa.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">“The question that remains is for how much longer the average consumer will be able to pay for, or afford, these tariff increases. Currently, municipalities across the country owe Eskom about R3-billion. Taxpayers that are paying their accounts every month might feel that they are being unfairly penalised by having to compensate for those customers that are defaulting on payments. Privatisation of the industry would allow Eskom to develop a more efficient system with a more accurate invoicing and debt collection system.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Salie says the additional tariff increases are potentially unaffordable for the average South African consumer. “It is also expected that businesses will suffer, with many companies already taking drastic measures in order to remain profitable. Tariff adjustments play a large part in the sustainability of the South African economy and this additional increase is unlikely to aid in economic growth.”</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-24770900880505076262014-08-21T15:00:00.000+03:002014-08-21T15:00:00.033+03:00Investors to give billions to ‘Power Africa’ initiative - Dangote, Citibank, World Bank amongst others<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Citibank has pledged to source US$2.5bn in incremental capital
to improve access to electricity for millions of people across Africa as part
of the ‘Power Africa’ initiative. Business Day, Nigeria reports that Power
Africa is a multi-stakeholder partnership between the US government,
governments of several African countries and other public and private sector
entities, working to accelerate investment in Africa’s power sector over the
next several years. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The report says Citi will also leverage its financing
expertise in renewable energy to encourage the adoption and implementation of
the appropriate technologies for specific markets. The bank will work with key
stakeholders in local capital markets to introduce innovative debt securities
and to enhance financial infrastructure. According to the report, Citi operates
in over 40 countries in Africa with offices in 16 countries, including key
markets such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and SA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The World Bank Group has also announced it would commit US$5bn
in new technical and financial support for the electricity project. THISDAY
reports that the World Bank’s financial commitment was announced on the second
day of the inaugural US-Africa Summit by the president of World Bank Group, Dr
Jim Yong Kim.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also from the on fringes of the </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">US-Africa Summit:</span><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Boss of Nigerian industrial conglomerate Dangote Industries Aliko Dangote has announced a 50/50 partnership with New York private equity company Blackstone to invest US$5 billion in Africa’s energy infrastructure over the next five years.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr Dangote, who outlined the deal while at the Power Africa summit taking place in Washington, said there will be a particular emphasis on power, transmission and pipeline projects.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dangote said: “For too long, inadequate energy infrastructure in Africa has been a major obstacle to the continent as it seeks to fulfill its economic potential. I am pleased to partner with Blackstone and the Black Rhino team, who have experience of successfully developing large-scale infrastructure projects, to address this issue in a socially conscious way.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two companies have agreed to jointly incorporate, own and operate a management company that would be responsible for the development and management of projects identified and agreed upon across the sub-Saharan African.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The investment is facilitated by Black Rhino, a portfolio company of Blackstone Energy Partners and affiliated funds managed by Blackstone, and Dangote Industries.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-76488735449171353732014-08-20T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-20T09:30:00.651+03:00Ataf has action plan to address tax base erosion<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Multinational companies shifting their profits from Africa
to low-tax jurisdictions are only partly responsible for the erosion of the
continent’s tax revenue bases. Business Day reports that the <b>African Tax
Administration Forum (Ataf)</b> believes some countries have signed away their tax
revenue because of weak domestic policies, and ill-conceived tax incentives and
mining contracts. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For two years the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) has been on a drive to address profit shifting and base
erosion and the report says, Ataf agrees with the need for an action plan and
has embarked on a drive to address problems that cause base erosion in Africa
but are not on the OECD’s agenda. Ataf executive secretary Logan Wort says
domestic policies and ofte, badly written mining contracts, erode tax bases in
Africa. Ataf will address the tax challenges of e-commerce, hybrid mismatch
arrangements, abuse of double tax treaties, the establishment of dummy
headquarters and the requirement to disclose aggressive tax-planning
arrangements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kenya is to impose capital gains and windfall taxes on oil,
gas and mining companies within months to ensure it maximised benefits from its
mineral resources. Business Report quotes President Uhuru Kenyatta as saying:
‘This is something that we are very clear about. We want to ensure that we as a
country also are able to benefit from both the windfall and capital gains tax.’
Tullow Oil and partner Africa Oil have found oil reserves in northern Kenya and
the government wants to avoid a similar situation to that in Uganda, where
Tullow is contesting in court the state revenue authority’s demand that it pay
capital gains tax following its sale of assets.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-61633690839950891492014-08-19T15:00:00.000+03:002014-08-19T15:00:00.638+03:00Glencore eyes Guinea’s iron ore deposits<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glencore has expressed interest in iron deposits in Guinea,
although the company said it had not pitched for a stake in Simandou. Reuters
reports that Glencore is the latest mining major looking to invest in iron ore
assets in Guinea. Most interest is focused on Simandou, one of the biggest
deposits, however, any potential investors in Simandou are treading carefully. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Israeli-owned BSG Resources, which was stripped of its licence to develop part
of Simandou following a Guinean corruption investigation, is seeking
arbitration and has threatened to sue companies that invest in its former
licence area. Three sources close to the government said London-listed Glencore
had indicated its interest in investing in Simandou, in a meeting with
government officials in Conakry in June.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ArcelorMittal has, meanwhile, announced it had signed deals
to purchase stakes in an iron ore project in Guinea. According to an
Engineering News report, </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ArcelorMittal</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">said that it would buy a 43.5% stake in
Euronimba from Billiton Guinea, a unit of BHP Billiton and a 13% stake from
Compagnie Francaise de Mines et Metaux, a unit of Areva. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Euronimba holds a 95%
indirect interest in the Mount Nimba iron ore project, a deposit with an
estimated 935m tonnes of direct shipped ore with an average grade of 63.1% of
iron. The site is about 40km from ArcelorMittal’s mine in Liberia. The company
should be able to use its Liberian railroad and port facilities, meaning that
its capital expenditure would be much lower than otherwise the case, CFO Aditya
Mittal said. He added that approval for exporting ore from Guinea to Liberia
was critical to the acquisition.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-13429816080615243642014-08-19T14:58:00.000+03:002014-08-19T14:58:00.228+03:00Global heavyweights in the race for $3bn East African oil pipeline project<div class="first-paragraph" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: -0.25px; line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">International firms, some individually and others as consortia, are vying for the contract to build a multibillion-dollar petroleum pipeline connecting the oilfields in <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kenya" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kenya</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/uganda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Uganda</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/south-sudan-region" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">South Sudan</a> to the proposed <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/lamu-port" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Lamu Port</a>, on the<a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kenyan-coast" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kenyan coast</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Designs for the $3-billion Hoima–Lokichar–</span><a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/lamu-pipeline" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Lamu pipeline</a><span style="line-height: 22px;"> have been received from </span><a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/tullow-oil" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tullow Oil</a><span style="line-height: 22px;"> and </span><a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/africa-company" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Africa</a><span style="line-height: 22px;"> Oil, which has submitted a design for the Lokichar–Lamu route; </span><a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/toyota-tsusho" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Toyota Tsusho</a><span style="line-height: 22px;"> (Hoima–</span><a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/manda-bay" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Manda Bay</a><span style="line-height: 22px;">–Lamu), Tullow, Total and </span><a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/cnooc" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">CNOOC</a> <span style="line-height: 22px;">(Hoima–Lokichar–Lamu), Lapsset (Juba–Lokichar–Moyale–Lamu) and Total (Hoima–Eldoret–Lamu/Mombasa.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The submission of the designs follow on the request for proposals (RfP) issued by the governments of <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/uganda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Uganda</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kenya" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kenya</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/south-sudan-region" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">South Sudan</a> in June 2014. The three governments intend to hire a consultant to oversee the feasibility study and preliminary <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/engineering" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">engineering</a> designs of the proposed pipeline.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The consultant will also supervise the imple-mentation of the <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/project" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">project</a>, which will include the<a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/construction" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">construction</a> of tank terminals in Hoima, Lokichar and Lamu, pumping stations and a 9-km-long pipeline from the Lamu tank terminal to offshore mooring buoys.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The feasibility study and preliminary design will be jointly financed by the partner States, ensuring that the entire pipeline is designed to the same standards and codes,” the three governments say in a joint communique.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The proposed pipeline will be used to export crude oil from <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kenya" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kenya</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/uganda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Uganda</a> through the <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/lamu-port" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Lamu port</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this month, <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/east-africa" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">East Africa</a> Community heads of State (except <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/tanzania" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tanzania</a>’s President<a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/jakaya-kikwete" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Jakaya Kikwete</a>) met in <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kigali" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kigali</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/rwanda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Rwanda</a>, where they resolved to accelerate the <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/project" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">project</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/uganda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Uganda</a> is to submit comments on the RfP to the <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/project" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">project</a> steering committee for approval by July 10, 2014, and issuance of an addendum to the RfP [is expected] by July 11, 2014,” <span style="line-height: 1.375em;">reads the communique, which was issued at the end of the summit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After settling on the design issue, the partners plan to embark on a fundraising campaign. The pipeline <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/project" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">project</a> will be one of the largest joint <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/infrastructure" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">infrastructure</a> <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/projects" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">projects</a> in the <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/east-africa" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">East Africa</a> region.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pipeline, which is part of the multibillion-dollar <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/lamu-port" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Lamu Port</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/south-sudan-region" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">South Sudan</a>–Ethiopia <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/transport-industry-term" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Transport</a>, or Lapsset, Corridor <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/project" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(3, 184, 222); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Project</a>, is a key priority for <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kenya" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kenya</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/uganda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Uganda</a>, which have discovered crude oil reserves in the last few years.<a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/uganda" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Uganda</a>’s endowment is estimated at 3.5-million barrels, while <a class="topiclink" href="http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/topic/kenya" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Kenya</a> is determining the level of its reserves.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By John Muchira</span></div>
<div style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375em; margin-bottom: 1.375em; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-17426673056728033412014-08-18T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-18T09:30:01.101+03:00Mozambique trying to ease coal companies' pain, but no tax breaks<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mozambique is discussing with its foreign coal mining partners ways to help them ride out depressed markets but will not be offering special tax breaks to ease the pain, its mineral resources minister said on Monday.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Esperanca Bias</strong> told Reuters the government understood that companies such as Vale of Brazil and Rio Tinto, which helped Mozambique to start up in 2011 as a coal producer and exporter, were feeling the pain of depressed global prices for coal used in steelmaking and generating power.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The southern African nation, which still bears the scars of a 1975 to 1992 civil war, has the world's fourth-largest untapped recoverable coal reserves, estimated at over two billion tonnes.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vale is investing billions of dollars on rail and port networks to bring greater volumes of coal to the market, up from a current export capacity of five million tonnes per year. It is targeting 22-million tonnes by 2017/18.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Vale, which announced an accumulated loss of uS$44-million for Mozambique operations in the first quarter, says it urgently needs to cut operating costs to remain competitive.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We're studying this," Bias said on the sidelines of the fifth Mozambique Coal Conference in Maputo. "We are working on it to see what can be done from our side." she added.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mining companies face the challenge of getting coal, mostly from mines in Tete province, over 600 km to 900 kmto ports on the Indian Ocean coast. This is in a nation that urgently needs modern railways and ports.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comparatively, major coal producer Australia has to carry its coal only about 200 km to ports which give access to the same big overseas export markets of China and India, putting the fledgling southern African producer at a costs and logistics disadvantage.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bias said that although the government was looking at ways to tackle the challenging logistics, this would not involve any special concessions.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We don't believe that reducing tax will resolve the problem. We don't think the tax system needs to be changed," she said.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>First Nacala Train This Year</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Addressing the Maputo conference, the director of Vale's Global Coal Division,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pedro Gutemberg</strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, said the Brazilian company remained committed to Mozambique.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was investing more than US$4.5-billion in a 900 km railway from Moatize through Malawi to Nacala port in northern Mozambique. Nacala is being developed as a deep-water coal export terminal capable of taking bulk carriers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Definitely, the plan is to have the first full train by the end of the year," Gutemberg said.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nacala terminal would be tested in January or February to be able to start exporting next year.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bias said this would complement the existing Sena rail line carrying coal from Tete province to Beira port in central Mozambique. This line had been improved too, she said.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gutemberg said Vale was talking to prospective partners to join it in Mozambique but he denied this formed part of any potential "exit strategy".</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coal miners are hoping a combination of continuing Chinese demand and the potential growth of the steel market in India will improve long-term coal prices, although prospects for the next few years remain depressed.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bias said a revision to mining laws currently before parliament offered tax breaks to firms willing to process minerals, including coal, in Mozambique - for example building steelworks or thermoelectric plants or transforming coal into liquefied fuel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But she made clear this kind of local processing was not necessarily being demanded of the existing coal producers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We're not saying the additional value has to be brought by the mining companies," she said. "It would be other companies. But if the mining companies have other industries in their portfolio, why not them too?"</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-8550985050843294452014-08-17T14:30:00.000+03:002014-08-17T14:30:01.331+03:00Mali cancels mining permits<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mali has cancelled 130 mining permits, about 30% of existing
permits in the gold-producing West African nation, in a drive to clean up the
sector, reports The Africa Report. The new government said in September that it
will carry out a complete inventory of existing mining contracts, titles and
licences and was ready to renegotiate permits that were not in the country’s
interest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hassimi Sidibe, a technical adviser in the ministry said the
cancelled permits include those held by Malians as well as foreigners and
targeted those where no development has taken place. The mines ministry said
the cancellation would effectively unfreeze those permits and allow the
government to issue them to other investors with the technical and financial
ability to pursue explorations.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-33811104535337800212014-08-17T01:00:00.000+03:002014-08-17T01:00:03.687+03:00Gabon selects seven firms for final oil block talks<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gabon’s oil ministry said on Monday it had selected seven firms for a final stage of negotiations as part of an offshore licensing round the government hopes will reverse a chronic decline in output.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new blocks are located in deep offshore waters — an exploration play that is expensive and uncertain but potentially very rewarding given the similarity of geological structures to oil-rich Brazil, where billions of barrels of oil have been discovered.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Former Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member Gabon produces about 230,000 barrels a day, down from a peak of close to 400,000 barrels a day in the 1990s.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An oil ministry statement said Impact Oil & Gas, Repsol, Perenco, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Petronas and Ophir were ranked highest after bidding for a total of nine blocks.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"These companies listed are invited to finalise negotiations for the signature of the relevant CEPPs (exploration and production sharing contracts) as soon as possible," according to a statement signed by Oil and Hydrocarbons Minister Etienne Dieudonne Ngoubou.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The statement showed that other companies such as Cobalt, Noble, Royal Dutch Shell and Total had been ranked in second or third place for the blocks.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ministry said it had the right to open negotiations with the lower-ranking firms if talks with the first-choice companies were unsuccessful.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bids for another eight blocks offered during the licensing round "did not reach the expectations of the Gabonese Republic", the statement added.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Reuters</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-79772419807497185812014-08-16T15:30:00.000+03:002014-08-16T15:30:00.244+03:00South Sudan fighting delays gold mining by a year<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">South Sudan will delay the start of gold mining by a year
from its planned date in 2016, due to fighting between rival political groups
in the world’s newest country, reports Engineering News. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">South Sudan is attempting to diversify its economy away from
oil by exploiting its gold deposits. It may also have reserves of other
minerals such as copper, uranium and clay, which it hopes to exploit with the
help of investors. ‘There are a lot of applications coming in ... not only for
gold but also copper, marble and limestone from Kapoeta (town) for production
of cement,’ Andu Ezbon Adde, undersecretary for mining in the Ministry of
Petroleum and Mining, said following a meeting with Australian government
officials. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Loisa Cass, first secretary at the Australian High
Commission in Juba, said South Sudan’s mining sector had potential but required
legislation to create a legal foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: Engineering News</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-86956497937427291512014-08-16T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-16T09:30:00.510+03:00Sundance inks Republic of Congo mining convention<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Iron-ore developer Sundance Resources has signed the Nabeba mining convention with the government of the Republic of Congo.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The signing follows the is</span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sue of the mining permit, which was approved in December 2012, and outlines the fiscal and legal terms and conditions that Sundance has to satisfy for the development and management of the 35-million-tonne-a-year Nabeba iron-ore project.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sundance MD <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Giulio Casello</strong> said on Friday that the signing of the convention was the culmination of the strong support given to the project by the Congo-Brazzaville government, since the company started exploration at Nabeba in 2010.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“In just four years we have achieved extraordinary success in the Republic of Congo, with the Nabeba deposit now boasting a significant high-grade hematite reserve, as well as substantial itabirite resources. This world-class inventory will underpin a successful mining operation for many years, generating substantial economic benefits, including employment opportunities for the Congo people.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under the key terms of the convention, Sundance would have a 25-year operating licence, effective from the publication of the mining permit decree, and which was renewable for successive terms of up to 15 years, depending on the remaining reserves.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The company would also be given a five-year corporate tax holiday following the start of production, after which corporate tax would be levelled at a rate of 7.5% for five years, and 15% thereafter.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A mining royalty equal to 3% of the mine gate value of all the extracted ore would also be applied. Furthermore, the state government would take a 10% interest in Sundance subsidiary Congo Iron SA, which would be non-dilutory during the term of the convention.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Furthermore, there would be no fees, levies or taxes charged on the export of iron-ore from the mine, and there would be exemptions from import duties and taxes on plant and equipment imported temporarily for project construction, and limited import duties and taxes on other mining equipment and consumables throughout the production phase.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Congo Iron SA would make yearly contributions to a fund established to promote the economic, social and cultural development of local communities, which would be impacted by the Nabeba mine.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nabeba deposit would underpin Stage 1 of the project development, which was a 35-million-tonne–a-year direct shipping ore operation, which would run for a minimum of ten years.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Casello said that the signing of the convention meant that Sundance had taken another significant step towards finalising the preconditions for financing and the start of construction.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Esmarie Swanepeol</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-29066231060572674232014-08-15T14:30:00.000+03:002014-08-15T14:30:02.021+03:00PWC: Only 54% of oil and gas staff think fraud programmes work<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">A total 91% of respondents to PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PWC) latest Africa oil and gas review indicated that their companies have anti-fraud and anti-corruption programmes in place. However, of these, On the brink of a boom notes that only 54% believe the programme is effective at preventing or detecting fraud and corruption.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, 6% of respondents said their anti-fraud and anti-corruption programmes were futile – the same levels as PWC’s 2012 research. More worrying is that 9% of the companies indicated that they had no programmes in place at all.</span></span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-90435859044315836462014-08-15T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-15T09:30:00.877+03:00Oil and gas to boost Nigerian growth<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Since the oil and gas sector is expected to grow by 2,3% per year at best, its success is still vital to the Nigerian economy, notes a report by McKinsey Global Institute. With the right reforms, </span><em style="background-color: white;">Nigeria’s renewal: Delivering inclusive growth in Africa’s largest economy</em><span style="background-color: white;"> reports that liquids production could increase from 2.35 million barrels a day on average to a new high of 3.13 million barrels a day by 2030, adding US$22-billion dollars to GDP by 2030.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Natural gas output could grow by as much as 6% per year, adding US$13 billion dollars to GDP by 2030. In total, the report says that the oil and gas sector has the potential to contribute US$108 billion dollars per year by 2030, up from US$73 billion dollars in 2013. But, this assumes the sector overcomes obstacles such as security and can attract fresh investment.</span></span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-31304815271350569762014-08-14T15:00:00.000+03:002014-08-14T19:26:43.786+03:00Wood Group Ghana signs local engineering company on as a service provider<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hydra Offshore has signed a two-year contract to provide local engineering support to Wood Group Ghana (WG Ghana) to provide subsea engineering services for work in Ghanaian waters. The contract follows the initial Memorandum of Understanding signed by WG Ghana and Hydra Offshore in December 2013. This was for Hydra Offshore to partner the group to deliver services to the Ghanaian oil and gas industry.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hydra Offshore will initially second engineers through WG Ghana into Wood Group Kenny (WGK), which was awarded an engineering services contract earlier this month by Tullow Ghana.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">WGK will support Tullow Ghana and its partners through the execution phase of the Ten project offshore. WGK will provide Tullow Ghana with project engineering resources, specialist technical support and technical assurance services across the subsea, umbilical, risers, flowlines implementation work scope through to first oil, scheduled for 2016.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-27702468185049484362014-08-14T10:00:00.000+03:002014-08-14T10:00:00.184+03:00Zambian substantial African contract wrapped up<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Marthinusen & Coutts recently completed installing four mill motors at an undisclosed copper mine in north-west Zambia. The massive electric motors, with diameters of 40 and 28 foot and with each stator quadrant weighing about 100t, are the largest the company has installed to date and probably the biggest in Africa.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marthinusen & Coutts’ scope of work comprised installing stator quadrant windings on the four mill motors, which were manufactured by Siemens. The four motors are gearless mill drives and include two 26 MW ball mill motors and two 28 MW semi-autogenous grinding mill motors. Among the challenges here were the remoteness of the mine, about 400km north-east of Kitwe, and working in a heavy rainy season while also trying to meet an incredibly tight deadline.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-66155273062993163012014-08-13T15:00:00.000+03:002014-08-14T10:38:32.346+03:00CAMAC Energy strikes oil in Nigeria<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">CAMAC Energy’s report successful preliminary results at its Oyo field development well offshore Nigeria in OML 120. The Oyo-8 well started drilling on June 15 this year and has both a vertical and a horizontal section. The vertical section was designed to test for additional hydrocarbons in the previously undrilled Eastern fault block of the Oyo field.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Oyo-8 was drilled to a total depth of 1,847m, and successfully encountered four new oil and gas reservoirs with total gross hydrocarbon thickness of 3m based on results from the logging-while-drilling data, reservoir pressure measurement and reservoir fluid sampling.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The well will now be completed horizontally as a producing well in the Pliocene formation of the Central Oyo field. Oyo-7, which was successfully drilled in October 2013, will also be completed horizontally in the Pliocene formation of the Central Oyo field.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-49961938225081072782014-08-13T10:37:00.000+03:002014-08-13T10:37:07.096+03:00Tanzanian firm becomes first publicly owned oil & gas group in East Africa<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tanzania-based energy group Swala Oil & Gas has listed
on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), becoming the first publicly owned
oil and gas company in East Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
company is the twentieth to list on the DSE and the second to list under the
Enterprise Growth Market (EGM), an equity market specifically intended for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
company listed on the EGM with 99-million shares after a successful initial
public offering (IPO), which raised TZS6.65-billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The IPO
was oversubscribed by nearly four-million shares and raised nearly TSZ2-billion
more than the maximum subscription of TZS4.8-billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Former
Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who officiated the listing event, said
Swala’s oversubscription indicated an investment appetite among Tanzanians and
a growing confidence in the national bourse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">DSE CEO
Moremi Marwa added that the EGM was aimed at providing SMEs access to the
capital market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Listing
on the DSE comes with transparency, good corporate practices and proper
disclosures. Swala has made the right decision to join the family of companies
aiming at being open and transparent to their shareholders, the public and the
world at large,” he commented.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Swala
chairperson Ernest Massawe noted that the listing was a step closer to the
company realising its ambition of achieving a successful venture based on a
public-private partnership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“We are
now ready to start our 2014 seismic programme and we look forward to fruitful
results. I am confident that Swala, as a public company, will be able to
capitalise on its achievements to date and continue to deliver for all its
stakeholders,” he maintained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">By Natalie Greve</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-50682564980174979852014-08-13T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-13T09:30:01.232+03:00Smelting expansion on Zambia’s cards<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The capacity of Zambia’s existing three copper smelters is insufficient to process the increased volumes of concentrate produced by the country’s copper mines, even with a new 1,2 million tonne per annum smelter comes on line.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Canadian-based mining company First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper mine, in the north-west province of Zambia, has accumulated stockpiles of more than 200 000 tonnes of copper concentrate, worth about US$ 350-million dollars, which will be reduced only when the new smelter at Kansanshi starts operating later this year.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">According to First Quantum CEO Matt Pascal, it is the largest single copper smelter ever built. “Even once the smelter is commissioned later this year and goes into full production during the next couple of years, there will still be too much concentrate in Zambia for the smelting capacity. As a result a new smelter expansion project is already on the cards,” he says.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-77646976549122066872014-08-12T15:00:00.000+03:002014-08-12T15:29:43.672+03:00Ebola: Mining companies affected and urged to ready pandemic contigency strategies<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the spread
of Ebola in West Africa an international health emergency. According to BBC
News, WHO officials said a coordinated international response was essential to
stop and reverse the spread of the virus. Although the recommendations stop
short of international flight and trade restrictions, they have symbolic
significance. The measures are designed to ‘galvanise the attention of leaders
of countries at a top level,’ says director-general Dr Margaret Chan. Keiji
Fukuda, the WHO’s head of health security, said that with the right steps and
measures to deal with infected people, Ebola’s spread could be stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ebola out-break should act as a timely reminder for
companies to ensure they have pandemic strategies in place as part of their
business continuity management plans. Tracey Linnell, GM: Advisory Services at
ContinuitySA is quoted in ITWeb as saying: ‘Companies need to look at the
current Ebola outbreak and what risks it poses to them and their employees, and
put protocols in place now At the same time, they should make sure their
overall approach to pandemics is in place.’ Linnell says that companies whose
people travel into the region or that have business relationships with it need
to be sure they are educating staff about symptoms and are monitoring the
health of at-risk employees. They also need to have a plan for getting employees
out of countries they might be visiting if borders are closed. Linnell says
that companies that documented pandemic strategies for the SARS scare in 2003
could use them as the basis for an Ebola strategy. Companies need to have a
comprehensive strategy in place for educating staff about the risks posed by
Ebola, and inform them about the emergency procedures put in place should they
show any symptoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Contractors at ArcelorMittal SA’s iron ore mine in Liberia
are evacuating the country and other miners are sending staff home to prevent
the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, reports Reuters Health. Mining companies
in West Africa are acting swiftly to keep Ebola at bay, screening employees and
restricting access to remote mining camps while keeping production of iron ore
and gold ticking. A prolonged outbreak, however, will threaten mineral
production in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea if essential supplies are
disrupted and employees stay away from work too long. Or worse: should a miner
or family member contract the virus. ‘I think everyone is mindful that it's
something that has the potential to impact businesses,’ Mark Bristow, CEO of
Randgold Resources, which mines gold in Mali, across the border from Guinea, is
quoted as saying. Though it has no mines in countries affected thus far,
Randgold is among several miners in West Africa to have launched preventive
measures against the Ebola outbreak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Minerals group Sierra Rutile has begun screening its workers
for early signs of Ebola, put travel restrictions in place and limited access
to its operations in West Africa. Engineering News reports that the company,
which mines rutile in south-west Sierra Leone, said the measures were
precautionary and designed to reduce any risk to its employees, contractors and
visitors. There have been no reported or suspected cases of Ebola to date at
Sierra Rutile’s operations and production has not been disrupted as a result of
the outbreak. The company said it had contingency plans should the situation
worsen.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-32588552467177420092014-08-12T10:00:00.000+03:002014-08-12T11:27:06.727+03:00DR Congo: Kibali focuses on gold recovery rates<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The focus of Rangold Resource’s Kibali gold mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is on ensuring the metallurgical plant achieves its designed throughput and recovery rates.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Randgold’s CEO Mark Bristow recently told media the secondary sulphide plant had been commissioned and optimised, and the Nzoro hydropower facility was completed, with the first two turbines running and the remaining two expected to come on line in the third quarter.</span><span style="background-color: white;">“While open pit mining is proceeding as planned, development of the underground mine is progressing well, and the first ore has been accessed slightly ahead of schedule,” Bristow says.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Randgold is the developer and operator of the project, which it owns in partnership with AngloGold Ashanti and the Congolese parastatal Sokimo. Bristow says that despite challenges the mine remains on track to deliver 550 000 ounces of gold forecasted for 2014.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-51647664566331155392014-08-12T00:30:00.000+03:002014-08-12T09:10:06.859+03:00Nigeria, US Sign MoU To Build US$2.5bn Power Plant<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least 15,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity is expected to be added to the national grid following an agreement signed between Nigeria and Global Edison Corporation for the construction of a US$2.5 billion gas-powered plant.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plant to be located in Anambra State is part a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Nigeria and the United States (US) president’s, Power Africa Initiative.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The US president, Barack Obama, last year unveiled the Power Africa Initiative which aims to add at least 10,000MW of electricity to selected African countries. Nigeria is among the six countries selected to benefit from the initiative.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The MoU which would outline the roles to be played by Nigeria and the US was signed yesterday in Abuja by the US ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, and the minister of power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, on behalf of both countries.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also to be achieved through the MoU is a 70MW solar manufacturing plant to be built in Nigeria.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the signing ceremony, Entwistle explained that the initiative is about transforming the lives of Africans through increased job opportunities to be created from better electricity supply.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He further stated that the Power Africa “supports the strengthening of the energy sector through credit enhancement, grants, technical assistance and investment promotion efforts.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-60624501848700235422014-08-11T15:30:00.000+03:002014-08-11T11:52:06.163+03:00Zest Energy to commission Diesel Power Plant in Zambia<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Zest Energy is moving towards commissioning its first reference site for diesel power generation in Zambia. The order was placed by Mopani Copper Mines in August 2013 and calls for the supply and installation of a 12 MVA diesel power plant.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The scope of this project comprises the supply of six Perkins 4016 TAG2 diesel engines and 400 V alternators, complete with spare parts for operations and maintenance, six 2 250 kVA dry type 400V/11 kV step-up transformers, 11 kV switchgear for the integration of generators from the power plant, all equipment needed for the generator plant control room including synchronisation and protection systems and all cabling within the mine’s generator plant building.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Alastair Gerrard, Zest Energy projects manager, says all equipment being supplied will be installed in a newly built plant building. Three complete synchronisation panels are also being supplied for integration of the local energy utility Copperbelt Energy Corporation’s 11 kV incomers. The system will have the additional functionality to perform at peak.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-69648243235069164602014-08-11T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-11T09:30:00.164+03:00Eritrean Mining - Phased start-up to reduce initial capital costs<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The recent signing of the shareholder agreement between Toronto-listed Sunridge Gold and the Eritrean National Mining Corporation has accelerated activities on the Asmara copper- zinc-gold project and the mine is on track to start production in 2015. The Asmara project is to be held and operated by the Asmara Mining Share Company of which Sunridge has a 60% share and Enamco 40%.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">A three-phase start-up design will reduce initial capital costs. During phase 1A, the high-grade copper direct shipping ore (DSO) will be mined from the Debarwa deposit by open-pit methods, crushed and loaded into containers and transported 120km to Massawa for shipping and sale to a smelter.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">To access the DSO zone found about 30m from surface, the enriched gold oxide cap at the surface will be mined, and this material, along with the similar gold cap from Emba Derho will make up Phase 1B, which is the open-pit mining of the gold caps from both deposits with recovery of the gold by heap-leaching methods. Providing that the mining licence is issued as expected in late 2014 or early 2015, and funding is in place, phase 1 production should start in the fourth quarter of 2015.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-56416033497387673472014-08-10T11:23:00.000+03:002014-08-10T11:23:00.153+03:00Stockport Exploration exporing in Western Kenya<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Canadian firm, Stockport Exploration, is prospecting for gold in Western Kenya. The firm will be working with a service provider to procure equipment and provide managerial services, process tailings and other services. Extraction is expected to start as soon as analysis is completed; it is expected that revenue from Stockport’s operations will only be realized towards the end of the year. Stockport joins Red Rock Resources (in Migori) and African Queen Mines (in Homa Bay and Siaya) who have been operating in the region.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Migori County is also rich in copper, which has a selling price of US$700/ton. Though Kenyan companies only have exploration licences, there was a recent attempt to illegally export copper worth Kshs.120m that would have led to a huge loss in government revenue. This highlighted the need to have high-level equipment such as scanners at the Kenya Ports Authority to enable it to curtail cases of illegal exports such as this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: ICES Kenya </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373035403417781935.post-75861107136124565542014-08-09T09:30:00.000+03:002014-08-09T09:30:00.511+03:00Drilling company strikes US 170-million dollar project<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao SA, the research and exploration unit of Angolan state-oil company Sonangol SA, has awarded Aberdeen-based drilling contractor KCA Deutag a US$170-milion dollar contract. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The project is to supply the Ben Rinnes jack-up rig in Angola. The two-year agreement, which comes with a two-year extension option, will see KCA Deutag’s offshore division provide drilling and completion services, in various offshore locations in Angola. The contract will employ about 100 people, most of whom will be Angolan nationals.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ben Rinnes is one of two jack-ups in KCA Deutag’s rig fleet. The rig has been operating in Gabon since January 2013, where it completed a multi-well drilling programme. KCA Deutag has been operating in Angola since 2005, where it manages three platform drilling rigs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15455010163972859972noreply@blogger.com0