Africa > Petroleum / Mining

Petroleum / Mining in Africa

  • Oil slips as data points to fast-growing supply

    WORLD, 2017/06/15 Oil fell on Wednesday next reports showed world supply was rising and US crude inventories were still increasing, raising concerns the market could remain oversupplied for longer than expected. Brent crude oil fell by 28 cents to $48.44 a barrel by 1330 GMT, while US crude futures were down 29 cents on the day at $46.17. Crude prices have fallen additional than 10 % since late May, pulled down by heavy world oversupply that has persisted despite a move led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Nations to curb production.

  • Africa rejects Europe's 'dirty diesel'

    BOTSWANA, 2017/05/04 Ghana and Nigeria are the first countries to respond to reports of European companies exploiting weak fuel standards in Africa. Stricter limits on the sulfur content of diesel will come into force on July 1. Governments in West Africa are taking action to stop the import of fuel with dangerously high levels of sulfur and other toxins. Much of the so-called "dirty diesel" originates in Europe, according to a report published by Public Eye, a Swiss NGO, last year. The report exposed what Public Eye calls the "illegitimate business" of European oil companies and commodities traders selling low quality fuel to Africa. While European standards prohibit the use of diesel with a sulfur content higher than 10 parts per million (ppm), diesel with as much as 3,000 ppm is regularly exported to Africa.

  • UK blocks Madagascar farmer who says mining firm ousted him from land

    MADAGASCAR, 2017/04/15 A Malagasy farmer who says he and his neighbours have lost access to their land because of the UK mining company Rio Tinto has been blocked from visiting London, where he had been due to address the firm’s annual general conference. Athanase Monja planned to speak at the firm’s AGM on 12 April, but was refused a visa by the Home Office. Monja, a subsistence farmer, fisherman and initial assistant to the mayor in his town of Antsontso, was told by British officials he had a “lack of qualification” to speak about environmental and human rights concerns.

  • Tanzania encourages investment to broaden mining sector base

    TANZANIA, 2016/12/24 New listing requirements for Tanzania’s mining companies are key components of the government’s plans to use the upstream extractive sector to stoke broader economic increase. Initial mooted in 2010, the government announced in September new regulations stipulating that companies holding appropriate mining licences – which extend up to 25 years – must inventory at least 30% of their shares on the Dar Es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) within two years or risk having their licence cancelled.

  • West African Countries Ban 'Dirty European Fuel'

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2016/12/08 Five west African nations have banned some European fuel imports, because they say they are too dirty. Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are introducing stricter standards to cut vehicle emissions and improve air quality in cities. Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire have decided to ban fuel coming from Europe next campaign group Public Eye issued a damning statement which said that European trading firms have been exploiting weak regulations in west Africa to export fuels with levels of sulphur up to 300 times higher than those permitted in Europe.

  • Tanzania: Dar Mulls Adding Tanzanite in Foreign Reserves

    TANZANIA, 2016/12/08 The government is contemplating to include Tanzanite gemstones in national foreign reserves at the Central bank instead of gold which is shunned due to price instability, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Phillip Mpango has said. Dr Mpango said in Parliament yesterday that the Central Bank was considering the idea of instating the rate and extraordinary gemstones in the reserves because of its price stability in the world market and the fact that it is mined in Tanzania.

  • A temporary reprieve for OPEC

    WORLD, 2016/12/03 OPEC has agreed to reduce current production levels in the initial such move since the 2008 world financial crisis. The transaction marks a major reversal of the "free-for-all" market-share strategy that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states have adopted in recent years as they sought to drive down prices and undermine US shale producers. However, there are reasons to doubt that the agreement will hold, not least because of weak enforcement mechanisms and the prospect of rising US shale production should prices rise significantly. As a result, The Economist Intelligence Unit will not make substantial changes to its oil price estimate, which currently stands at an average of US$45/barrel in 2016, rising to US$57/b in 2017 and US$61/b in 2018.

  • Rio Tinto agrees $1.3bn sale of Simandou stake to Chinalco

    CHINA, 2016/10/31 Rio Tinto announced on Friday it had agreed to sell its stake in the giant Simandou iron ore project in Guinea for up to $1.3bn to Chinalco, in a deal that could see the Chinese group take on development of the world’s largest untapped resource of the steelmaking ingredient. The Anglo-Australian mining company’s planned sale of its 46.6 per cent stake in the Guinea project marks an admission of defeat two decades after it persuaded the then dictator Lansana Conté to grant rights to prospect a mountainous zone.

  • Nigeria: ExxonMobil discovers one billion barrel oil field

    NIGERIA, 2016/10/29 “We are encouraged by the results and will work with our partners and the government on next development plans,” said Stephen M. Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company. According to the US oil giant, the capacity of the recent find was between 500 million and 1 billion barrels of crude oil. The Owowo-3 well was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater Ventures) Limited. It has a height of 10,410 feet (3,173 meters) and in water at 1,890 feet (576 meters). The company’s statement noted that there were five partners with interest in the current oil find. ‘‘ExxonMobil holds 27 % interest and is the operator for OPL 223 and OML 139. Joint venture partners include Chevron Nigeria Deepwater G Limited (27 % interest), Total E&P Nigeria Limited (18 % interest), Nexen Petroleum Deepwater Nigeria Limited (18 % interest), and the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company Limited (10 % interest),’‘ it said.

  • Gold refinery to open in Uganda by end of 2016

    UGANDA, 2016/10/04 A Ugandan company backed by a Belgian investor is due to open the East African country's initial gold refinery by the end of this year to process raw gold produced mainly from the region, a senior company official told Reuters. Uganda's mineral reserves are generally viewed as under exploited. Although there are gold deposits, it has no large commercial mine involved in production of the precious metal, leaving the field to smaller operators. The country serves, however, as a transit point for gold exports from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has large reserves, and Tanzania, one of Africa's major gold producers.
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