Oil will play a rising importance in Africa´s future development as the big African oil producer such as Nigeria (4.5 million barrels of oil in 2010), or Algeria or Angola (up to 2 million barrels of oil at the end of 2007) or Lybia will significantly raise their outputs. Smaller oil producers such as Gabon, Egypt or Equatorial Guinea still harbour some potential, too.

Moreover, there are newcomers in the club like Mauritania, Sudan and Côte d´ivoire (which will produce its first oil shortly).

Oil and gas drillings are under way in Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Kenya.

Morocco might have some oil and Mali, too.

So I want to create Africa´s oil thread where we can post all the news on oil/gas discoveries, drillings, potential etc. which are happening on the continent. :cheers:

Morocco has signed three exploration contracts with three international oil companies from Cyprus, Canada and Malaysia, MAP news agency reported.




The agreements were signed, on the sidelines of the 4th conference "Maghreb & Mediterranean Oil and Gas 2006" in Marrakech, by Amina Benkhadra, general director of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), with the representatives of Cabre Maroc Ltd (Cyprus), Transatlantic Maroc Ltd (Canada) and Genting Oil Morocco Ltd (Malaysia).

These bring the number of agreements signed with ONHYM in the mining sector to 17 agreements and six reconnaissance contracts in collaboration with 20 partners.

The contracts cover a total area of 237,195,40 km2, providing for four exploration concessions, 85 research permits (14 onshore and 71 offshore) and six onshore reconnaissance authorisations.

The Minister of Energy and Mining, Mohamed Boutaleb, invited on Wednesday international oil companies to benefit from morocco's potentials.

“Morocco, with its 350,000 km2 of sedimentary basins, constitutes an interesting and practically virgin zone for oil drilling,” he underlined.

“Although we are satisfied with the quality of cooperation with the oil companies operating in Morocco at present, our subsoil is still under-tapped,” he added.

Fourth firm joins hunt for oil in Mali desert

01.07.05 1.00pm

Mali has given a fourth international company the right to hunt for oil under its northern desert as the impoverished nation seeks to match neighbours Algeria, Mauritania and Niger by striking crude.

The government said in a statement it had awarded Australian firm Sphere Investments Ltd the rights to explore one block in the Gao region, near the border with Niger and Algeria, and one in the Taoudeni basin, which reaches into Mauritania.

Sphere said on its website the two blocks -- awarded to its 95 per cent owned subsidiary Mali Petroleum S.A. -- covered a total surface area of 64,300 square km.

"Mali Petroleum pledges to carry out various research projects and to drill a well on each of these two blocks over the next four years, at an investment cost of US$24.2 ($35.02) million," the government statement said.

Production from West Africa is expected to rise sharply in the next decade as foreign investment floods in and leading producers Nigeria and Angola massively boost production.

Among new finds, much of the increase is expected to come from deepwater fields in the Gulf of Guinea. But the Atlantic coast further north and new reaches of the Sahara desert are also becoming hives of exploration activity.

Mauritania, due to produce its first oil next year, said on Wednesday it could have significant reserves under its eastern desert, part of the same Taoudeni basin which runs into Mali.

Chinese state-run oil and gas firm Sinopec Corp struck an exploration deal with Mali last October, the same month Australian company Baraka Mali Ventures Limited also signed an agreement to start searching for crude.

Fellow Australian firm Trans Ocean Securities was awarded rights in June to explore a block in the Gao region, pledging to invest US$10.4 million in the project, the government said.


The government said on Thursday that economic growth would rise to 7.1 per cent in 2005 due to higher gold production, better rains boosting agricultural output and a diminished threat from locust swarms which devastated last year's harvests.

Posted to the web on: 19 May 2006

Nigeria lures Asian investors with oil rights

Reuters


LAGOS - Nigeria sold 16 oil licences on Friday in return for promises by mostly Asian investors of $20bn in new infrastructure, in a public sale that raised questions about transparency.

Chinese and Indian companies dominated the winners’ list, but several Nigerian firms also secured drilling rights in the deep water areas, many of which are close to big oilfields.

On top of bids totalling $500m, which should be paid when the contracts are signed, the winners promised to invest about $20bn in oil refining, power generation, agriculture and railways in the African oil giant.

The appearance of several unknown or inexperienced Nigerian companies among the winners, and some questionable bidding, raised concerns over the transparency of the process.

Transcorp, a new Nigerian company set up last year by a group of corporate moguls with the blessing of President Olusegun Obasanjo, bid on four blocks but failed to produce a supporting bank draft.

"419!" shouted several assembled executives, referring to a section of the Nigerian criminal code on fraud.

The licensing comes at a time of heightened political uncertainty in Nigeria with landmark elections due next year when Obasanjo must step down.

"In the same way that Obasanjo had a long hard look at the deals made at the tail end of the previous military administration, there is every reason to think that a new government next year would look at these if there is any controversy associated with this process," said Anthony Goldman, an independent risk analyst based in London.

Most of the blocks were unused portions of earlier licenses which were relinquished by major oil companies, some of which have seen billion-barrel oil finds.

India’s ONGC exercised its right of first refusal over a hotly contested block 279, taken from an area where ExxonMobil found the giant Erha oilfield, and matched a contested Transcorp bid of $75m.

They also bagged block 285, a relinquished part of Shell’s Bonga oilfield licence.

ONGC in consortium with Mittal Steel has agreed to spend $6bn on building a new 180,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery, 2,000 megawatts of power generation, and a railway running East-West across Nigeria.

State-run China National Petroleum Corp walked away with four licences for a total of $16m in bids.

The Chinese government has committed to investing $2bn in a refinery in the northern state of Kaduna.

Britain’s BG Group and Sahara Energy secured rights to block 286, a discarded part of the licence where Chevron co-discovered the Bonga Southwest/Aparo oilfield.

Transcorp was named the winner of two blocks despite not having the required bank draft.

The government also used the licensing to address civil unrest in its oil heartland by reserving one block for a collection of "youth groups" — a local term for militants - who would reinvest any of their profits into local development.

"We decided it was right for us to give them rights on blocks that are relatively easy to exploit. We as the government are going to help them," said Tony Chukwueke, head of Department of Petroleum Resources,

Militants demanding more control over their resources have attacked the oil industry in the Niger Delta, cutting the OPEC nation’s exports by a quarter since February.

Another in-house deal was the award of block 289 to Clearwater, owned by the southern state of Rivers, in return for a promise to invest $1,5bn in power in its own state.

A joint-venture of Nigeria’s Jigawa state government and an unnamed Canadian investor secured two blocks including 292, taken from a licence containing Chevron’s giant Agbami oilfield.

They pledged investment of $4bn in an ethanol project based on a 300-hectare sugar plantation in northern Nigeria.

Analysts said it was questionable whether these Nigerian companies had the financial or technical ability to explore for and produce oil in deep water.

It's good to hear that Africa can make some revenues from oil wells.

Nigeria: Exxonmobil Makes Deepwater Discovery Offshore

Daily Trust (Abuja)

May 18, 2006
Posted to the web May 18, 2006

ExxonMobil's subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Deepwater West, Ltd. (Esso), has drilled an oil discovery in Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 214, approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) offshore Nigeria.

The Uge-1 discovery well was drilled in 4,144 feet (1,263 meters) of water to a total depth of 16,831 feet (5,130 meters) and encountered more than 300 net feet (100 meters) of oil. The Uge structure is located approximately 90 miles (145 km) south-southeast of the Erha deepwater development. Studies and data analyses are under way to fully evaluate the discovery and development options for Uge. Transocean's drillship, Deepwater Pathfinder, drilled the well.

Esso is the operator of OPL 214 with a 20 percent working interest. Other working-interest owners are Chevron Nigeria Deepwater B Limited at 20 percent, Phillips Deepwater Exploration (Nigeria) Limited (a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips) at 20 percent, Oxy Nigeria Exploration & Production Limited (a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation) at 20 percent, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company at 15 percent, Sasol Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited at 5 percent and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the concessionaire. Uge-1 represents the first discovery on the license.

ExxonMobil is a leader in the discovery and development of deepwater hydrocarbon resources in West Africa, where it has interests in 17 blocks totalling more than 10 million gross acres. The company has a leading position in nearly all the major exploration and production areas in the world and the industry's strongest portfolio of proprietary geosciences and engineering technology.

ONGC-Mittal combine wins 2 blocks in Nigeria

Press Trust of India

New Delhi, May 19, 2006


ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL), the joint venture between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and LN Mittal Group, has won two blocks in Nigeria, the latest oil and gas hot spot of the world.

The ONGC-Mittal combine has won two oil blocks, Numbering 209 and 212, company sources said.

The OMEL was to have first right of refusal over three blocks, including part of block 209 where ExxonMobil discovered the giant Erha field.

In return, the consortium would commit to invest $6 billion in a new 180,000 barrel per day refinery, 2,000 megawatts of power and an east-west railway.

Global Steel, also of India, has rights over block 281 in return for commitments to build a $1.8 billion compressed natural gas plant.

ONGC Videsh has part of block 218, where Stat Oil has discovered both oil and gas, as compensation for its loss of a share in two highly prospective blocks it lost due to a dispute with Korea in a licensing round last year.

The Nigerian government had earlier promised that OMEL would be awarded blocks without pledging investments in Nigeria's infrastructure as a special case.

OMEL had assured investments up to $6 billion in power and rail infrastructure.

The special dispensation for OVL follows intervention by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last time around when OVL lost out on a potential block to Korean National Oil Company due to a last minute policy change by Nigeria.

Mauritania plans four-fold oil production increase

02-05-06 Mauritania is to increase its oil production four-fold in the next two years, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, head of the country's ruling Military Council for Justice and Democracy, said.
Vall, who started a countrywide tour, was speaking in the city of Kiffa, 600 km east of Nouakchott.

Mauritania entered a partnership with an oil company, Woodside, to exploit the Chinguetti oil field, located 65 km off Nouakchott in the Atlantic Ocean.
The oilfield's initial production is set at 75 000 bpd a day.

Source: www.businessinafrica.net

Angolan Premier calls for strengthening of African Oil Producers' body

29-04-06 Angolan Prime Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos has called for the strengthening of the Association of Petroleum Producers of Africa (APPA) to make it a strategic institution, which is able to guarantee a solid union and pacification of African peoples.
Fernando da Piedade made this appeal while addressing the opening session of the 23rd Ministerial Conference of African oil producing countries, at the newly-built Talatona Conventions Centre in Luanda.

It is necessary to promote initiatives and common projects in policies and management strategies in every field of the oil industry, enabling the member countries to take out better dividends from the activities of oil exploration, said the premier.
Fernando da Piedade said that taking into account that the west coast of Africa is one of the world’s biggest places in exploration and production of hydrocarbons, it is imperious to exploit this potential in order to strengthen cooperation and economic development among these countries.

APPA, created in 1987, binds Angola, South Africa, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, the two Congos, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria and Chad.

Source: PIN/Xinhua

Libyan oil sector set to boom

Web posted at: 5/17/2006 2:21:0

Source ::: REUTERS

WASHINGTON • The United States’ move on Monday toward normalised relations with Opec member Libya should help the African nation in its quest to expand its crude oil production capacity, experts said.

Culminating a years-long rapprochement, Washington will reopen an embassy and remove Libya from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, rewarding the longtime pariah nation for scrapping its weapons of mass destruction programs.

Libya produces about 1.6m barrels per day of crude oil, which puts it toward the rear of the pack of Opec’s 10 members. Led by the one-time US antagonist Muammar Gaddafi, Libya badly needs foreign investment in its energy industry, estimated at about $30bn. Libya has not pumped above 2m bpd of oil since the 1979 oil price shocks.

The lifting of sanctions will make it easier for US companies to ship in high-tech gear that could breathe new life into Libya’s fields, many of which have languished from two decades of underinvestment and neglect.

So-called enhanced oil recovery projects on existing fields are one of international majors’ best chances to play a role in boosting Libya’s capacity in the near term, experts said.

“The quickest return we are likely to see is the acceleration of negotiations on enhanced oil recovery from Libyan oil fields which can bring new supplies to the market in the next two or three years,” said David Goldwyn, an energy consultant and former government official.

“The normalization of diplomatic relations will mean that the export of these enhanced recovery technologies should happen,” echoed Charles Esser, an analyst at the US Energy Information Administration.

Technologies used to boost crude oil flows by injecting steam or other liquids deep into underground oil reservoirs, as well as techniques for drilling horizontally, could see an uptick in Libya, Esser said.

For example, sagging production at the El Bouri oilfield off Libya’s western coast—its largest producing oilfield—could be revived with such equipment, the EIA said.

El Bouri produces about 60,000 bpd of oil, less than half of its 1995 output, mainly because of an inability to import enhanced oil recovery equipment, the EIA said.

Ali Aujali, chief of the Libyan Liaison Office in Washington, said lifting sanctions will put US oil companies on an equal footing with other international oil firms competing for the rights to drill in Libya.

“All the oil companies need the full relations between the two countries because there are still some restrictions on certain technology the American countries need very badly to use in Libya,” Aujali told Reuters. “Now I think they can compete with the other companies and they can go ahead with their job in Libya.”

US oil companies like Marathon Oil Corporation, ConocoPhillips and Amerada Hess Corp. which returned to Libya last year after a 19-year absence, will face less red tape to ship oil field gear to Libya, Goldwyn said.

“That will be a big help to them, just getting basic equipment over there,” Goldwyn said. It will also be easier for US executives to obtain visas to travel to Tripoli to negotiate oil deals. he said. Though some so-called duel-use items like explosives and pipes used in oil drilling will likely still be licensed by US officials, “the basic nuts and bolts of the oilfield operations equipment” will be easily shipped, he said.

Libya has targeted output of 2m bpd by 2008 and around three million bpd in 2015, up from output now of around 1.6m bpd. The biggest step in boosting US-Libyan trade came in 2004, when the United States ended a broad trade embargo that started in 1986, said Kathleen Little, a partner at Vinson and Elkins LLP, a law firm that advises clients in Libya.

But Monday’s move will reshape the way that US oil firms both big and small view Libya, said Stephen Davis, also with Vinson and Elkins.

Chevron hits oil at new huge field off Nigeria
Posted Thu, 18 May 2006

LAGOS - US energy group Chevron reported on Wednesday an exploration success at a new oilfield off Nigeria to increase exports from Africa's biggest crude producer.

"Chevron Nigeria Deepwater B Limited and its partners have drilled the first oil discovery in Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 214, approximately 70 miles (113 kilometres) offshore Nigeria," a company statement said.

"The Uge-1 discovery well was drilled in 4,144 feet (1,263 metres) of water to a total depth of 16,831 feet (5,130 metres) and encountered more than 300 net feet (100 metres) of oil," it said.

Chevron International Exploration and Production President John Watson welcomed the discovery.

"The discovery is a further demonstration of how we are achieving superior success from a focused and high-impact exploration programme," he said.

Chevron is a major oil operator in Nigeria, accounting for around one-third of the country's daily exports of 2.7 million barrels.

Nigeria hopes to boost output to more than four million barrels in the next few years by developing new oilfields in the Gulf of Guinea.

AFP

AFX News Limited
Repsol YPF discovers new gas well in Algeria UPDATE
05.16.2006, 11:24 AM

Most Popular Stories


Best Cars For The Bucks
TV Pilots That Crash
Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators
How Much Home $1 Million Buys
Best Big Companies

Most Popular Videos


The Perfect Pitch
Parties You'd Want To Crash
Writing On The Wall
Vehicles Loaded With Value
Joining The Circuit



(updating with Edison comment)

MADRID (AFX) - Repsol YPF SA said it has discovered a new gas well in Reggane Nord in the Algerian desert.

In a statement, the Spanish-Argentine oil and gas group said the new discovery tested at a depth of 3,983 meters with a preliminary production rate of 763,000 m3/day, and at 2,360 meters with a gas flow of 483,000 m3/day.

This is the first time that gas has been found at the carboniferous level in this basin, it said, noting that the discovery confirms the potential for the gas being commercialised in 2008.

Repsol YPF leads the consortium which won the contracts to explore these blocks in Algeria in 2002.

In a separate statement, Edison SpA said the consortium also includes itself, RWE Dea and Algeria's Sonatrach.

The exploration programme in this area for 2006-2007 includes the drilling of a further eight wells, of which two will be this year, as well as the gathering of further seismic data, Edison said.

Russia's Stroitransgaz to bid for gas facility project in Algeria
16:55 | 21/ 05/ 2006



ALGIERS, May 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russian pipeline company Stroitransgaz will bid for the construction of a gas processing facility in Algeria, the company's first vice president said Sunday.

A tender to build a gas processing facility to produce ammonia acid has been announced by Algerian state-run company Sinotracy.

Leonid Bokhanovsky said Stroitransgaz would file an application in consortium with Russia's independent natural gas producer Itera. He said the company was currently preparing relevant documents and would submit its bid in September 2006.

"If we win the tender, we intend to invest more than $300 million in the project," Bokhanovsky said.

He said ammonia acid was used as the basis for the production of chemical fertilizer mainly sold to North America and southern Europe.

New success for Edison in Algeria


Leading Italian energy company Edison has succesfully completed its survey of a third gas well in the northern Algerian region of Reggane, where it operates in joint-venture with partners Repsol YPF SA, RWE Dea and Sonatrach.

The results of this latest drilling are extremely positive - production tests have shown a preliminary production rate of 763,000 cubic metres of natural gas per day, Repsol said, adding that there is potential to commercialise the gas by 2008.

"This is our third successful survey in just a few months and confirms Reggane area's great potential" said Edison's managing director, Umberto Quadrino. "The present discovery could speed up the process of marketing gas from this area," he added.

It is the first time that natural gas has been found in at the carboniferous level.

Tests carried out at a depth of over 2,300 metres have proved a gas flow of 483,000 cubic metres per day.

The new gas well - which has been named KL-2 - is located in a block in northern Reggane. The consortium won the exploration contracts in 2002.

This newly discovered well follows successful surveys of two other wells carried out by the consortium in the same area.

Tests have shown the RG-5 gas well to have a preliminary capacity of 636,000 cubic metres of gas per day and the SL-1 gas well to have a 100,000 cubic metres per day capacity.

The drilling of the KL-2 well is part of the consortium's exploration programme for 2006-2007.

This includes the drilling of eight more wells, as well as the gathering of seismic data along 650 square kilometres of Algerian soil.

Nigeria: Chevron Texaco Makes A Mega Oil Discovery In Nigeria-Sao Tome Zone


Daily Trust (Abuja)

May 30, 2006
Posted to the web May 31, 2006

US oil company Chevron Texaco Corp has discovered a huge oil reserve in an offshore zone between the west African nations of Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe, the area's development authority said last Friday.

The discovery was made in the Obo-1 block some 1,720 metres under the sea, around 200 kilometres south of Port Harcourt in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region and 300 kilometres north of the island of Sao Tome.

Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe decided in 2004 to work together to develop joint offshore blocks in the Gulf of Guinea.

Total strikes oil off Cameroon coast

June 5, 2006

French oil major Total had struck oil in its Dissoni exploration block off southwestern Cameroon and planned further tests to evaluate the reserve, the company said on Friday.

"The well encountered 50m of oil pay in massive oil-bearing sandstone," Total said. It owns 50 percent of the Dissoni block. - Reuters, Yaounde

It's a little old:


April 10, 2006 (FALLOUJ) — Sudan’s oil minister on Monday inaugurated its newest pipeline, which will raise oil production to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) and provide a structure to potentially double output in the coming year.

Mohamed Salih Osman, the project manager, said that initially 88 oil wells would provide between 160,000 - 180,000 bpd in the 1,400 km (870 mile) pipeline from Upper Nile in Sudan’s south east to the eastern Port Sudan.

The 32-inch pipeline would take 45 days to fill and could carry up to 750,000 bpd eventually, but is currently able to pump 500,000 bpd.

The oil fields, called Block 3 and 7, are operated by Petrodar, a consortium made up mostly of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., Malaysia’s Petronas [PETR.UL], with smaller shares for Sudan’s Sudapet, China’s Sinopec and al-Thani of the United Arab Emirates.

Petrodar Vice President Khidder Eissawi told Reuters another oil field had been discovered in the area, which looked to contain as much oil as the existing fields. Blocks 3 and 7 are in the south eastern Melut Basin region.

"There is a lot of oil in this area," he said. He added the pipeline could also eventually pump crude from nearby Block B, where French giant Total SA is to operate.

Shortly after Africa’s longest civil war in Sudan’s south was ended by a January 2005 peace deal, the former southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) awarded a new British firm, White Nile , exploration rights in part of Block B.

This contradicted Total’s claim signed with the northern government in 1980 — before the war — and renewed last year.

Under the peace deal a National Petroleum Commission has been formed to decide new contracts and address such disagreements.

But the southerners, scattered after more than two decades of civil war which claimed 2 million lives, are facing problems in finding people with the oil expertise to fill their posts.

There is also dispute between the two sides over how much current oil production there is.

Western companies have mostly withdrawn from Sudan over alleged abuses of the local population’s rights, leaving the region dominated by mainly state-owned Chinese, Malaysian and Indian entities.

(Reuters)

Sudan hopes to join OPEC soon - minister


June 16, 2006 (LONDON) — Sudan’s Energy and Mining Minister Awad Ahmad al-Jaz has said he hopes his country will be able to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries soon, Arab Oil and Gas reported Friday.


Awad al-Jaz"I hope we will be able to join OPEC in the near future," al-Jaz said in an interview with the monthly publication.

"We are a beginner in the oil industry. I think we have a lot to learn within this organization as we will be able to take advantage of the experience of countries that have been oil producers and exporters for a long time and play a key role in the world market," al-Jaz added.

Nigeria, Africa’s only OPEC member and current holder of the group’s presidency, has invited Angola and Sudan to join at a time when the 11-nation oil producer group has seen its ability to influence oil prices greatly diminished by its lack of spare oil production capacity.

The expansion of the producer group would give OPEC more sway in managing the amount of oil supplies available to global markets through its production quota system, although oil analysts warn that the group faces wider internal turmoil when the price of crude oil falls and countries have to reduce individual output quotas.

OPEC currently accounts for about 42% of global oil production, down from a peak of 55% in 1974, although oil analysts believe the producer group’s share will rise to around 50% over the next decade or two because of lackluster non-OPEC oil production growth.

Sudan plans to raise its oil output to 500,000 barrels a day "in the next few weeks" from around 360,000 b/d now, al-Jaz said.

He added that negotiations for three new exploration blocks - 14, 17 and 12A - have been completed and could be signed shortly.

Nigeria pumps 2.6 million bpd, sees 3 mbpd by year-end


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Nigeria's oil production stands at 2.6 million barrels per day and will approach 3 million bpd due to increased production from new deepwater fields, senior oil official Edmund Daukoru said on Sunday.

"We're ramping up deepwater production ... Deepwater is making up for conventional territory," he said on the sidelines of the Asia Oil & Gas Conference in Malaysia.

Speaking in Seoul at the start of this week, Daukoru said Nigeria planned to boost its capacity by 1.5 million bpd by the end of 2007, helping meet strong demand growth in Asia and the United States that has fuelled a surge in prices.

Over the past year Nigeria, the biggest oil producer in Africa, has begun pumping oil from a host of new deepwater fields including Royal Dutch Shell's 225,000 bpd Bonga development and ExxonMobil's 150,000 bpd Erha field.

More developments led by Total and Chevron are expected to follow over the next two years.

Daukoru, who is also OPEC president this year, said it was premature to predict what action, if any, OPEC would take at its next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 11 in Vienna.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last week to keep pumping as much oil as their customers want, but at around $70 the price is still in sight of all-time highs.

"The culture now is that volatile world markets means we don't take huge steps. We will take measured steps and then see what the market reaction is," Daukoru said.

It is lucky for Africa to sell oil at the time when it is so expensive. Hope African will make good use of the money earned from their oil, as oil will run out one day. With the oil money, they can develop their countries and to improve the education of their people in a fast track. With the abundant natural resource and a less population pressure, Africa may be able to develop faster than China. I am waiting for the African era, it should be their turn now.

It is lucky for Africa to sell oil at the time when it is so expensive. Hope African will make good use of the money earned from their oil, as oil will run out one day. With the oil money, they can develop their countries and to improve the education of their people in a fast track. With the abundant natural resource and a less population pressure, Africa may be able to develop faster than China. I am waiting for the African era, it should be their turn now.

Was this a joke or are you truly, realistically serious? Because that is one of the most puzzling comments I have heard. Black gold is the catalyst of unforseen prosperity, but fuck what you heard, this money's not going anywhere with those corrupted dictators and presidents. First look at what the continent is against. The AIDs epedemic the president of South Africa does not aknowledge, the worlds most hunger, refugees, war torn nations in Congo...so this fastrack develop IS ONLY POSSIBLE IN STABLE SOCIETY'S. And you are comparing Africa to China? Does Africa have a manufactering base that even slightly rivals that of China? How about their Information Technology, is that even seeing India's boom. Sorry, Africa has a long way to go in terms of human developement to even contemplate economic developement.

And you are comparing Africa to China? Does Africa have a manufactering base that even slightly rivals that of China? How about their Information Technology, is that even seeing India's boom. Sorry, Africa has a long way to go in terms of human developement to even contemplate economic developement.
================================================================
Everything has a strat. About corruption, you had better tell me where on earth there is no corruption. USA has supportted more dictators on this planet more than anyone else. BTW, distators may not be a bad thing if they also lead the country to the right direction. Western style of democracy may or may not work in the black continent, as democracy itself does not bring any wealth to the people, they do need economic benefit rather than just a vote. The leaders of China were always regarded as dictators, but so what ? Africa has more resource then China but do not have the population pressure that China has, that is their advantage. What Africa needs is just a stable social envoirnment which could enable economic development to take place, it could be the case if the western powers keep their hands off from stirring up the water for their own interest.

Did you read what I posted in the skybar thread?

And you are comparing Africa to China? Does Africa have a manufactering base that even slightly rivals that of China? How about their Information Technology, is that even seeing India's boom. Sorry, Africa has a long way to go in terms of human developement to even contemplate economic developement.
================================================================
Everything has a strat. About corruption, you had better tell me where on earth there is no corruption. USA has supportted more dictators on this planet more than anyone else. BTW, distators may not be a bad thing if they also lead the country to the right direction. Western style of democracy may or may not work in the black continent, as democracy itself does not bring any wealth to the people, they do need economic benefit rather than just a vote. The leaders of China were always regarded as dictators, but so what ? Africa has more resource then China but do not have the population pressure that China has, that is their advantage. What Africa needs is just a stable social envoirnment which could enable economic development to take place, it could be the case if the western powers keep their hands off from stirring up the water for their own interest.

You sound overly optimistic. Chronic mismanagement of the tremendous African resources continue to bog down any hopes of economic boom. Look at Nigeria. The place could be RICH if not for the corrupted beauracracy, these officials are fucking crooks. While there is corruption in China, and there is less pop. density in Africa where is the education, industry. Yeah, its ripped apart my horrible governments and just retarded economic schemes.

Chevron to invest $17bn in Nigeria, others

Last Updated: July 7th, 2006
July 7th, 2006

Chevron Corporation together with its partners plans to invest $17 billion in Nigeria and some other African countries over a period of five years.
OLUSOLA BELLO & EJIOFOR ALIKE

Sources at Chevron Nigeria Limited, the company’s subsidiary, told BUSINESSDAY that the investment would be in the areas of completion of continuing energy-related projects and the establishment of new ones.

The company has many success stories to tell in Africa as it has projects in more than 40 African countries, especially in Nigeria and Angola, the continent’s two largest producers.

This makes the company one of the sub-Ssahara Africa’s largest United States-based private investors.

According to company sources, three out of the four major projects the company has in the whole world are located in Africa: two in Nigeria and one in Angola.

The two projects in Nigeria are the Agbami Deepwater project and the Escravos-gas-to-liquid (EGTL), plant while the one in Angola is the Benguela Belize-Lobito Tomboco Deepwater project.

The third project which is located outside Africa is the construction of the United States’ Tahiti production facilities.

The $1.3billion EGTL plant in Nigeria which the company jointly owned with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will when completed by 2009 have the double effect of reducing gas flare and producing low-sulfur diesel fuels for international markets.

The company, according to sources, is already sponsoring 200 Nigerians who will run the plant on a 26-month education and training course at Sasol plants in Sasolburg and Secunda, South Africa.

The sources also say that the 900-million-barrel Agbami Field project, the largest deepwater discovery in the history of Nigeria will set a new world standard in deepwater when completed.

Work is also continuing in Nnwa-1 Field, a very promising gas reservoir discovered by the company and its partners, some 50 miles (80km) east of Agbami.

The company is also leading the 421-mile (678km) proposed West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project to transport 900million cubic feet capacity Nigerian natural gas, which otherwise would be flared, from Escravos to the Egbin power station in Lagos as well as the Republic of Benin, Togo and Ghana.

Company sources say that the company is steadily moving close to its target date of realizing first gas in the last quarter of 2006 as it is set to start the 56 kilometres long, 30 inches diameter onshore pipeline installation.

It would be recalled that the company signed Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with regional development councils which comprise representatives of several host and non-host communities and state government representatives.

This removes Chevron from direct execution of community development projects even while contributing to the funding of the projects.

Saturday 8 July 2006


Search


Regions
Latest News
East Africa

Great Lakes

Horn of Africa

Southern Africa

West Africa

Weeklies


Themes
Children

Democracy & Governance

Early warning

Economy

Education

Environment

Food Security

Gender Issues

Health & Nutrition

HIV/AIDS

Human Rights

Natural Disasters

Peace & Security

Refugees/IDPs



IRIN Films


IRIN In-Depth

AFRICA: Information technology vital for African development


[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]


ADDIS ABABA, 21 Jan 2002 (IRIN) - The head of the UN's Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Monday urged the continent to swing behind the information technology revolution sweeping the world.

Kingsley Amoako said that information and communication technology would form a central plank to development in Africa. Information technology had a vital role to play in improving education and health across the continent, he stressed.

Launching a two-day meeting in Addis Ababa of the UN’s Information and Communication Technology Task Force (UN ICT), he said Africa had already made great strides. Over the last three years almost every African country had become connected to the Internet allowing access to global information networks, he noted.

But he told delegates from around the world that much had to be done to help build an African information infrastructure. "So I think we made a lot of progress," he said. "But we still face huge challenges...And the challenges that we face include the need to mobilise the resources to implement ICT programmes in areas such as health and education."

"The information revolution, along with its attendant explosive growth of knowledge, and the related phenomenon of the globalisation of the world economy, have brought about the Information Age, which affects all aspects of economic, social and political activity," he said. "Insufficient appreciation of this phenomenon leaves African countries at the short end of an information and technology gap, the disparity between information rich and information poor."

He said the time was ripe to "overcome this gap and utilise" the ICT to promote social and economic growth in the region. The ICT would "transform" the continent, he stressed, adding that its central role would be to enhance development and poverty eradication programmes.

The task force plans to help build networks between the private and public sector, and involve governments and local communities. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan launched the UN ITC - which will also act as his advisory body - in November 2000.


[ENDS]



Theme(s) Other


Other recent AFRICA reports:

WFP needs $3 million for troubled northwest, official says, 7/Jul/06

IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 337 covering 1 July – 7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 290 for 1 - 7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 334 for 1-7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

IRIN CEA Weekly Round-up 338 for 1-7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06


Other recent reports:

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 337 covering 1 July – 7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 290 for 1 - 7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 334 for 1-7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

GREAT LAKES: IRIN CEA Weekly Round-up 338 for 1-7 July 2006, 7/Jul/06

DRC: Country without roads, 6/Jul/06





[Back] [Home Page]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here to send any feedback, comments or questions you have about IRIN's Website or if you prefer you can send an Email to Webmaster

Copyright © IRIN 2006
The material contained on www.IRINnews.org comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------























National Technology Associations



more update info below but only for south africa.theinfo above toceratin extent is out of date since there has been improvements overall.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



South Africa

South Africa ranks 37 out of 102 countries in the Networked Readiness Index in the Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004, making it the highest ranked African nation in the survey.[i] A complete analysis of South Africa’s economy and ICT is found on the Kogod School of Business INITEB course website. (Please note that research is from 2003 and facts may be outdated.) While South Africa has eleven official languages, all IT association websites are in English.

South Africa’s IT association sector is the most advanced of the developing nations used as case studies in this report. There exist enough associations for there to be the umbrella organization called the Information Industry South Africa. The ISA is an association of associations, facilitating communication between stakeholders in the South African IT technologies and electronics industries and promoting the growth of the sector and the development of skills.

Information Industry South Africa promotes its goals by:[ii]

Engaging formally and informally with government departments and other participants in the ICTE sector.
Issuing opinions and position papers on matters of national importance relevant to the ICTE sector.
Assisting with the development and staging of the country’s premier ICTE exhibitions and conferences, such as Futurex
Participating in projects and initiatives such as the South African IT Industry Strategy Project, the ICT Sector Jobs Summit, the Telecommunications Colloquium, the ICT Empowerment Charter Working Group and the SAVANT initiative.
Representing South Africa’s ICTE industry in world forums through its membership of the World Information Technology & Services Alliance (WITSA) and in the regional forum of the African Federation of ICT Associations (AFICTA).
Circulating information on matters of common interest among its members and seeking support for mutual cooperation.
The ISA has diverse membership of associations involved in various aspects of the IT sector of South Africa. Associations are both regional and local with software, hardware, telecommunications and technology cluster concerns.

One of the most future looking associations in South Africa is SAASTEC (Southern Africa Association of Science and Technology Centers) that has 14 centers in South Africa with plans to expand into other Southern African regions. The mission of SAASTEC is geared toward a vision to, “…facilitate in creating a technologically-based Southern African society which will ensure a competitive edge in the global economy.” By creating programs that engage youth in science and technology educational programs both in school and at centers, the association is aiding the development of an educated IT workforce.

The IEF (Electronics Industries Federation) appears to be the most powerful IT association in South Africa. The website lists 40 members who are major IT companies in the nation. The mission of the IEF is, “…to monitor and constructively influence the evolving environment by providing a representative industry opinion on the contribution that the ICT industry can and should make to the development of South Africa, to encourage co-operation among members to contribute to the creation of an environment in which the industry can prosper.”

While on the whole the South African associations are larger in number than counterparts in Brazil, Bulgaria, and Malaysia, they are not as impressively engaged with the government on national IT policies and the advancement of trade as seen with those associations.

Return to Overview & Case Studies


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[i] Dutta, Soumitra, et al. The Global Information Technology Report. 2003-2004. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 195.

[ii] Information Industry South Africa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Report Last Updated: December 19, 2004
© 2004 Pamela Strother
Impacts of National Information Technology Environments on Business
Kogod School of Business, American University
Comments: pamelastrother@hotmail.com
http://www21.overture.com/d/sr/?xargs=15KPjg15VSuZXyl%5FruNLbXU6TFhUBdycj2q5g%5FUY8sS5BBqSw0FbUtceOCk8d5SL14rVGViar7rfFGGMPShqPOTxj9HRCEGOf%5F24XHzIs8N6a3AdxHg8Aqsuzum%5FJKNHYOZWu0b4uznr78EPH4Pw1O%5FokKuWjq%2Duc0zMegnuoeBubV2VJw%2D1XCfJZds%5Ftt3pGaP8QEGxJuRcnAzXDJMsERj4Uqzv0AABAAOG%5F3tzdS9Qbfc3lp%5FqPMfJEOp7zzhI6ea%5FW9kYcLLw7GtqsMsEHVjSvJpsxgIDuPgKUanc4zSt%5FNeSbsuDBrpfefmfDeKqhlui6uSsrHFXbpY0B%2DaUd0UKWsbeXtEhhJ9xyCdOYhKJcCyhq7HrGHG2kqYkVQ4tKVCPY%2E&yargs=www.american.edu


note- south africa gnp ppp is over 10,060 dollars so it is now a developed state offically.the info above is oudated since it is 2004 info.more improvements has taken place since 2004.

I do not think the oil would run out,i think that is a scare tactic.

July 10, 2006 (BEIJING) — Sudan’s sole major refinery, in Khartoum, has completed its planned expansion to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), boosting the country’s gasoline exports and domestic fuel supply, Chinese part-owner CNPC said on Monday.


Khartoum Refinery has completed its planned expansion to 100,000 barrels.
China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), a leading energy investor in Sudan and parent of Asia’s top oil and gas firm PetroChina , owns 50 percent of the refinery, which it built and operates. The Sudan government holds the rest.

A 400,000 tonne-per-year (tpy) reforming unit, which yields mainly gasoline, produced its first quality product on June 30, marking the successful completion of the $341 million expansion project, according to a notice on CNPC’s Web site www.cnpc.com.cn.

The upgrading, which doubled the plant’s capacity, also included a 1 million-tpy delayed coking facility, a unit that processes heavy residue oil into light transportation fuels. That unit had a smooth start-up in May, the report said.

The expanded plant will boost Sudan’s diesel supply significantly and allows for half of the gasoline output to be exported, it said.

The upgrade allows the plant to process more heavy crude oil, such as Fula from Block 6, 95 percent-owned by CNPC, now pumping at 30,000 bpd, a CNPC official told Reuters

CNPC gets its investment returns from the revenue but is not involved in marketing the refined fuels, which is handled by state-run Sudanese oil firm, Sudapet, said Beijing-based trading officials.

Malaysian state oil firm Petronas last year signed a $1 billion deal to build a second 100,000-bpd refinery in Port Sudan to process the new Dar Blend crude, which had been scheduled to begin production a year ago but had yet to be exported.

(Reuters)

Major producer to explore Nigerian offshore oil

afrol News, 20 October 2006 - A petroleum company in Canada, Addax Petroleum, today announced that its wholly owned Nigerian subsidiary has entered into a farm-out agreement with Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited, an indigenous Nigerian oil company.

Addax Petroleum is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with a strategic focus on Africa and the Middle East. It claims to be one of the largest independent oil producers in West Africa and has increased its crude oil production from an average of 8,800 barrels per day for 1998 to an average of approximately 83,000 barrels per day for the first eight months of 2006.

A release issued by the Canadian company stated that pursuant to the deal, Addax Petroleum and Starcrest had signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation in respect of oil prospecting license (OPL) 291 deepwater offshore Nigeria.

Under the agreement, Addax Petroleum will be the operator and has a participating interest of 72.5 percent.

The 291 licence is located approximately 130 kilometres off the Nigerian coast, where the water depth ranges from approximately 1,000 to 2,300 meters and covers a gross area of 1,287 square kilometres (318,000 acres). The licence is immediately adjacent to OML127 (to the east) which contains the Agbami and Ikija fields, operated by Chevron and OPL242 (to the west) operated by Devon Energy.

The release added that pursuant to the farm-out agreement, Addax would be obligated to pay to the Nigerian government 100 percent of the OPL291 PSC signature bonus of US$ 55 million. It would also pay Starcrest a farm-in fee of US$ 35 million and pay Starcrest's share of OPL291 exploration and development costs, which was to be reimbursed to Addax from Starcrest's share of production revenues from the licence.

Commenting on signing the PSC, the president and chief executive officer of Addax, Jean Claude Gandur, said "the addition of OPL 291 to our deepwater exploration portfolio is truly exciting. The highly prospective nature of the property is underlined by its proximity to the nearby world-class Agbami oil field which is currently under development. We believe that OPL291 offers significant potential to our company and its shareholders."

The 291 licence represents the mandatory relinquishment area of OPL216 following conversion of OPL216 to Oil Mining Lease ("OML") 127 preceding the development of the Agbami field in OML127 by Chevron.

OPL291 was tendered by the Nigerian government under the 2006 mini bid round and was recently awarded to Starcrest. Pursuant to the PSC, Addax Petroleum and Starcrest also are to undertake an initial investment of US$ 75 million covering an initial work commitment which comprises the acquisition of 3D seismic and drilling one well.

They have entered into a memorandum of understanding with NNPC to undertake an investment in an independent power project, which would be developed with gas from a commercial development in OPL291 and agreement with NNPC on the technical and commercial arrangements should the power project proceed.


By staff writer

Published:02/11/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)

Korean firms in talks for $10b Nigeria project

Reuters


Seoul: The construction arm of South Korean steel company Posco Co Ltd said yesterday it is part of a consortium in talks to upgrade a railway and build a gas plant in Nigeria in a deal worth about $10 billion.

A spokesman at Posco Engineering & Construction Co said the consortium, which includes state-run Korea National Oil Corp (Knoc) and state-run power monopoly Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco), would also build a gas pipeline in Nigeria as part of the deal.

In return for building facilities in Nigeria, South Korea is seeking to get an advantage in buying oil licences from Africa's top oil producer in the future, an energy ministry official said.

Nigeria, also the world's seventh-biggest crude exporter, sold 16 oil licences in May in return for promises by mostly Asian investors largely Chinese and Indian companies of $20 billion investment in refining, power and other projects.

"Together with Knoc and Kepco, we are negotiating with the Nigerian government to win the order, which will be worth about $10 billion," the spokesman said by telephone.

"But it will take some time to finalise a deal because plausibility tests are due to be completed by next January."

Modernisation

The project would modernise a railway that stretches 1,500 km from Port Harcourt in Nigeria's west coast to Maiduguri in the east.

It would also build a 2,200-megawatt gas plant in the African state's capital, Abuja.

South Korea, which imports all of its oil and is the world's fourth-largest crude buyer, plans to provide a soft loan to Nigeria for the project, with Posco Engineering being the main contractor.

The deal also reflects a growing trend among Asian investors in which they use infrastructure build-up as a way of winning oil drilling rights.

Seeking secure access to crude oil supplies to power its fast-growing economy, China has agreed to provide a $8 billion soft loan to Nigeria to help it repair its dilapidated rail network.

Earlier yesterday, South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported that South Korea and Nigeria will sign a memorandum of understanding on oil reserve development and railways, including the $10 billion project, when Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo visits South Korea from November 6 to November 7.

Lagos – Nigeria’s black gold has earned it $400bn in revenue over the last 50 years.
Austin Avuru, president of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) said that the revenue came from sales of 27 billion barrels of oil over the period.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer and the sixth largest oil exporter in the World. 95 percent of the West African country’s foreign currency receipts came from oil.

Nigeria has had an oil production target of four million barrels since 1999, however, violence and kidnappings in the Niger Delta has made it difficult to achieve this target. The country also has a target reserve level of 40 billion barrels by 2010.

Nigeria doesn't need oil, Nigeria has the potential to be Africa's largest Agricultural producer, people always go, Nigeria Oil, but anyone that is familiar with history will know that Nigeria doesn't need it's oil, the problem is that the other resources have being neglected and they are not properly developed, and until then Nigeria will have to be largely dependant on oil:)

Nigeria doesn't need oil, Nigeria has the potential to be Africa's largest Agricultural producer
:)

no, sudan have the largest agricultural potential in africa and even the whole world. 45% of sudan could be planted which is larger than nigeria itself. plus the low population density in sudan makes it easier. however Nigeria is the second when it comes to agriculture after sudan :) .

I never looked into that, but the reason why i said Nigeria has the largest potential was due to the fact that Nigeria used to be the largest producer around 25 years ago and Nigeria has arguably more variety in resources than the majority of countries in the world. Nigeria also has the largest amount of HardWood on the whole continent. Cassava, Yam, Ground Nut, Peanut, Vegetable Oils, spices, Potato, rice, poultry, Rubber and even strawberries are grown produced and harvested. 95-99 percent of all the world's columbite is found in Nigeria and Tin is abundant. Nigeria is the 14th largest country in Africa and there are a lot of countries in Africa that could easily surpass it when it comes to Agriculture, but Nigeria doesn't only have the resources it has the Man Power being the most populated on the continent.

This is purely based on hearsay but it is nevertheless worth sharing. The government in the DROC and the foreign countries interested are trying to cover up the rumor that they may have discovered the 3rd largest oil reserves in the world in a region of the ex-Zaire! That would put the Congo-Kinshas 3rd behind Saudi Arabia and Canada in oil reserves. The oil belt is located underneath Lake Mai-Ndombe, located in Bandundu Province in western Democratic Republic of Congo, and stretches all the way to Tanzania.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's south neighbor, Angola, has a lot of oil. The republic of congo in the west has also a lot of oil, so it increase that a lot of oil could be found in the ex-Zaire.

In most countries, this could mean very good news and sure wealth and development, but in the DROC and most African countries, this could mean war! Just the fight for the mineral columbite-tantalite or known locally as coltan, used in consumer electronics products such as cell-phones, DVD players, Computers and Games Consoles, which the ex-Zaire has 80% of the world known reserves, has created a conflict that has resulted in approximately 4 million deaths! So imagine what would be the outcome if the rumor of the incredible oil reserve was proved to be true...