Tanzania: Madinda-Dar gas pipeline project to end this year

The 542 km natural gas pipeline under construction in Tanzania, from Madinda in Mtwara to Dar es Salaam is now 99 per cent complete, with the project expected to be done by July 1 this year according to Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Plant Manager, Mr Leonee Mroso.   The new gas pipeline is anticipated to transport a maximum of 784m standard cubic feet daily. The volume can generate over 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, including the 300MW plant at Mnazi.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

Construction of Kenya’s tallest skyscraper kicks off

 Construction of the Kenya’s tallest skyscraper, 40 storey Hazina Trade Centre in Nairobi has started. The tower will be constructed atop the existing 8 storey Hazina Trade Centre located on Moktar Daddah Street and currently hosting one of Kenya’s main chain stores, Nakumatt Lifestyle.   China Jiangxi International has been contracted to construct the building and is already on the site. On completion, the building will be the tallest in Kenya. The.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

Kenya to begin selling power to Rwanda in 2015

 Kenya will begin to export power to Rwanda to help the latter meet its increasing demands for low cost electricity. This follows the signing of a power trade deal on Tuesday this week for construction of a 220kv power line from Kenya to Rwanda.   Kenya will start the sale of 30 MW of power from July next year according to the Power Purchase Agreement. Rwanda will pay Kenya 12 US cents per kilowatt hour for the electricity, but Uganda will also levy 2.08 US cents as.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

CAMAC completes seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration in Kenya

 CAMAC Energy, a United States oil and gas exploration company has announced completion of 2D seismic acquisitions for two blocks in Kenya; 700 line kilometers on L-1B block and 325 line kilometers on L-16 block.   The intention is to discover potential exploration targets in Paleozoic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Middle to Lower Tertiary sections, known to be oil-bearing in East Africa. The oil and gas exploration survey was carried out by BGP Kenya Ltd.   Apart from.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

sterling energy receives license extension for madagascar’s ambilobe, ampasindava blocks

The AIM listed oil & gas exploration company Sterling Energy Plc has announced it has received a Ministerial and Presidential approval was granted in October 2014 to extend the current phase of both the Ampasindava and Ambilobe PSCs to July 2016.   These approvals have now been formally published in the Official Gazette of Madagascar, which is the final step in the approval process.   The Ambilobe PSC which was first awarded in 2004 is in Phase 2 of the Exploration.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

UGANDA TO AUCTION SIX MORE OIL BLOCKS

 Uganda’s cabinet has approved the auction of six new exploration blocks in the oil rich Albertine basin in what will see the country’s first competitive bidding round.   The new shift follows the passing of the Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Act 2013 Section 52 which allows the State Minister for Energy with the approval of Cabinet announce areas open for bidding for a petroleum exploration licence.   Under Uganda’s law the.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

In Rwanda, Israelis and Americans launch East Africa’s first commercial solar field

 Just a few degrees south of the equator on Thursday, sunlight bathed rows of pristine solar panels as delegates from around the world arrived to celebrate the inauguration of East Africa’s first solar field.   “What we can see up here today for Rwanda, Africa and the world is hope,” said Yosef Abramowitz, the American-Israeli co-founder and president of the Gigawatt Global company. “We’ve come together to see the light.”   The.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 17th February 2015

Gigawatt Global to invest US$2b in generating 1000Mw of solar power for Africa

Gigawatt global is set to spend about US$2billion in developing and pumping 1000Mw of solar power in Africa by 2020.   Dutch company Gigawatt has said the 1000MW power project will have its roots in East Africa where the largest photovoltaic field will be built in Rwanda. Burundi is one of the countries that could also benefit when this facility is expanded.   The photovoltaic field solar power plant will help to serve electricity to 11 million people in Rwanda. It will.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th February 2015

Algeria to invest US$70b in fracking technology

 Algeria’s state-owned oil exploration company Sonatrach is set to invest US$70 billion in gas extraction through fracking technology in the next two decades.   This decision was arrived at after successful drilling tests carried in the country’s southern desert.   The project is aimed to help the country in producing 20 billion cubic metres of shale gas annually from 200 drilling sites in the desert.   Fracturing is a technique in which rock is.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th February 2015

RWE Dea starts gas drilling operations in Algeria

 German construction company RWE Dea has started drilling operations of gas wells in Algerian Sahara.   The gas project is scheduled to give birth to 26 development wells in its first phase. Gas is expected from these wells in 2017.   The initial drilling of the first well KL-39 began in January, and the drilling of the other 21 wells will take place in the course of the project.   RWE Dea is a consortium of Groupment Reggane Nord (FRN) project that comprises.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th February 2015

Algeria records increased imports in construction materials

 National Statistics and Data processing centre (CNIS) has reported that the quantity of imported construction materials in Algeria increased by 15.6% in 2014.   According to the report, imported quantities of main building materials such as wood, cement, iron, ceramic and aluminium rose to 10.13 million tonnes in 2014 from 8.92 million tonnes in 2013, representing a 15.6% increase.   The cement industry imports’ bill increased by 28.4% to reach a total of.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th February 2015

Kenya: Meru to construct 120 km of road in the planned annuity roads program

 Governor of Meru Peter Munya has said this week that the county will benefit from the planned governments’ annuity roads construction program by building 120km of roads, after talks with the national government bore fruit.   Talks held between the governor, Meru senator Kiraitu Murungi, and Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau were held as the county had differed with the government in relation to the awarded length of roads awarded to the county under the.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th February 2015