Oil: Mexicans donated money, including livestock, to pay off foreign debt

Oil: Mexicans donated money, including livestock, to pay off foreign debt

Once one of the world’s biggest producers, Mexico has had a sweet and sour relationship with the upstream industry. In my experience working in the Mexican oil and gas industry, I witnessed the transition of a nationalised industry, once described by Juan Pardinas, former director of the Mexican Institute on...

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Decarbonisation: Why Africa is investing more and faster in gas, renewable energy

Decarbonisation: Why Africa is investing more and faster in gas, renewable energy

The power sector accounts for up to 41 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions today, with Africa contributing about 2-3 per cent. In parallel, there are still over 580 million people on the continent who do not have access to reliable energy and the demand for electricity is expected...

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Wildlife species diminish as trade shoots up even in protected areas

Wildlife species diminish as trade shoots up even in protected areas

Wildlife trafficking is having a profound negative impact on biodiversity, a new analysis finds. Hunting and trapping to feed international and national trade networks threaten numerous species, the researchers report, even those living in protected areas. “This study adds to the growing body of evidence that commercial wildlife trade is...

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Why Mozambique is well-placed to take advantage of minerals market boom

Why Mozambique is well-placed to take advantage of minerals market boom

In addition to sizable gas reserves found offshore, Mozambique is home to commercially significant deposits of coal, gold, graphite, ilmenite, iron ore, titanium, copper, tantalum and bauxite, to name a few. While Covid-19 may have disrupted mining operations in terms of site closures and reduced export earnings, demand for precious...

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African energy stakeholders sign partnerships to spur growth in the sector

African energy stakeholders sign partnerships to spur growth in the sector

Future Energy Series Africa (FESA) has signed an agreement with the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR) for strategic partnership. FESA is a project origination platform that targets the continent’s most influential low-carbon energy stakeholders. As part of the agreement, AFUR will contribute to the development of the inaugural FESA...

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Angola’s oil and gas industry can thrive alongside its rich biodiversity

Angola’s oil and gas industry can thrive alongside its rich biodiversity

Angola was last month said to be drafting legislation to permit prospection of oil, gas and mining activities in 14 national conservation areas. These are the Luengue-Luiana National Park, which represents part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area that stretches from Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia to Zimbabwe. The announcement led...

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Ecobank Nigeria announces pricing of its senior unsecured $300m bond

Ecobank Nigeria announces pricing of its senior unsecured $300m bond

Ecobank Nigeria, a wholly owned subsidiary of leading pan-African banking giant, Ecobank Transnational Inc (ETI), has declared it has successfully priced its $300 million bond issuance that will mature in February 2026. The fixed-rate, US dollar-denominated bond, with a tenor of five years, carries a coupon rate of 7.125 per...

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Ecobank Nigeria announces pricing of its senior unsecured $300m bond

Ecobank Nigeria announces pricing of its senior unsecured $300m bond

Ecobank Nigeria, a wholly owned subsidiary of leading pan-African banking giant, Ecobank Transnational Inc (ETI), has declared it has successfully priced its $300 million bond issuance that will mature in February 2026. The fixed-rate, US dollar-denominated bond, with a tenor of five years, carries a coupon rate of 7.125 per...

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Grey market: Incentive to produce charcoal illicitly or legally set to rise in Kenya

Grey market: Incentive to produce charcoal illicitly or legally set to rise in Kenya

Despite a longstanding moratorium on charcoal production and trade in Kenya, current high demand for the fuel that has been enforced by expansive alternatives such as liquified gas and kerosene has given rise to a booming ‘grey market’ that now threatens to exacerbate ecological degradation. Increased production and trade in...

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Centurion Plus launches Africa’s free trade area preliminary impact report

Centurion Plus launches Africa’s free trade area preliminary impact report

Long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that became operational January 1 this year, has published guidelines on how the world’s largest economic bloc by membership, will conduct business. However, it remains to be seen how the continent will resolve issues related to non-tariff barriers, such as infrastructure, that are...

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