Petroleum |

South Sudan Sees $2 Billion in Oil Investments as Just the Start

SOUTH SUDAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Recent pledges of $2 billion in investment for South Sudan’s oil may be just the start, with the war-torn nation expecting further agreements in early 2019, its petroleum minister said. Ezekiel Lul Gatkuoth’s prediction comes as the African nation’s warring sides prepare to form a power-sharing government in the latest bid to end five years of conflict. The country, home to sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest crude reserves, is banking…

As Petrodollars Dry Up, Weary Angolans Ship BMWs to Portugal

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Desperate for hard currency, Angolans are coming up with new ways to convert their kwanzas into dollars and euros. Filipe Afonso got tired of waiting in line at a bank to exchange his kwanzas for greenbacks. So he bought two second-hand BMW motorcycles, shipped them to Portugal and sold them for euros to pay for his family’s expenses back home. “You do what you need to do to get…

Angola Oil Minister Says Nation Needs Crude to Rebound to $60

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s Petroleum Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos said it’s essential for the southern African nation’s economy that oil prices rebound to $60 a barrel this year. “That would be extremely important,” Botelho de Vasconcelos said on Monday in an interview in the country’s capital Luanda. “We’ve been getting signs from the market that prices could reach $60 by the end of the year.” Angola, which depends on crude shipments…

Libya’s Roller-Coaster Oil Output Hit Takes the Heat Off OPEC

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Libya’s oil production has dropped by 361,000 barrels a day, equal to 35 percent of output last month, taking some of the heat off of OPEC’s struggle to reduce a global glut. The North African country’s lost production is worth $160 million since Aug. 19 as “gangsters” took over pipelines and facilities that forced the shutdown of the Sharara field, the nation’s biggest, and the Hamada and El Feel, or…

Nigeria Energy Overhaul Nears as Lawmakers Aim for December

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – After years of delays, Nigeria may finally be about to overhaul its oil and gas industry. Senators on May 25 passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill. By December, they should have enacted two more pieces of legislation, completing an overhaul that will replace current laws, Senate President Bukola Saraki said in an interview in Abuja, the capital. The goal of reforming the industry was first set out at the end of 2008. “That’s…