Private Chinese refiners, who buy most of Iran’s crude, have recently scoured West Africa and the Middle East for supply unsold in previous trade cycles, as flows of Iranian crude have dropped amid higher prices and preparation for the incoming Trump Administration. China’s independent refiners, the so-called teapots, are key …
Read More »Aramco and ADNOC among Suitors for Shell’s Downstream Business in South Africa
Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and commodities trader Trafigura are among the entities vying to acquire Shell’s service stations in South Africa, reported Bloomberg, citing sources. The sale, which could fetch close to $1bn, includes a network of 600 service stations and is part of Shell’s downstream …
Read More »Africa’s Top Refinery could soon Upend Global Gasoline Markets
The Dangote refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest and newest crude processing facility, is set to soon begin production of gasoline, potentially upending global gasoline flows. For years, Nigeria has been importing the gasoline it consumes, but the newly operational refinery is poised to turn OPEC’s largest African crude oil producer …
Read More »Namibia Plans to Become the Fifth Largest Oil Producer in Africa
Namibia has ambitions to become one of the largest oil producers in Africa by 2035, with an average output of half a million barrels daily, displacing Egypt in the top five list, a government official has said. “With four floating production storage and offloading units deployed by 2035, we could …
Read More »Turkey Makes Rapid Inroads into Africa’s Oil and Gold Sectors
Two decades ago, China pioneered the so-called “Angola model” wherein it provided oil-backed loans from China to Angola and other African cuntries to finance the building of roads, hydroelectric dams, railways, and other infrastructural projects. Between 2000 and 2022, Angola borrowed $45 billion from China, repaying some of it in …
Read More »Ghana Breaks Ground on Africa’s next Major Petroleum Hub
Ghana has officially embarked on constructing a massive $12 billion petroleum hub, a project expected to significantly enhance the country’s position in the global oil and gas industry. Located in the southwestern city of Jomoro, the hub will include a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery, petrochemical plants, and other related infrastructure, positioning Ghana …
Read More »Middle East Oil Benefits as China Buys Less African Crude
China has long been building inroads into Africa, while the U.S. backs down from the region, leaving a gaping hole in the West’s influence over the “final frontier”. Now, however, we’re seeing all that soft power and oil-backed loans fizzle out as various think tanks note that China is increasingly …
Read More »Africa’s Largest Oil Refiner Set for Public Listing
Nigeria’s Dangote Group plans to list its company Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, which runs Africa’s largest refinery, on the Nigerian stock exchange in early 2025, the group’s president Aliko Dangote said this weekend. The group also plans to list another multi-billion-dollar subsidiary, Dangote Fertiliser Limited, on the domestic stock …
Read More »South Africa’s State Utility Set to Keep Highly-Polluting Coal Plants Open
Eskom, the state-owned utility of South Africa, has received government approval to keep five of its old polluting coal power plants operational for five years after the country implements a limit on plants’ emissions in 2025. Eskom’s five coal-fired power plants – Hendrina, Grootvlei, Arnot, Camden, and Kriel – exceed …
Read More »Africa to Get only 2% of Global Clean Energy Investment
Global investment in renewables including electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps will clock in at $2 trillion in the current year, twice the amount that will go into fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency has projected. This marks the second consecutive year when …
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