After cement, sugar, flour and fertilizers, the man whose fortune is estimated at 16.7 billion dollars (Bloomberg figure) should produce his first barrels by next July from two blocks bought in 2015 from Shell, Total and ENI, located on the Kalaekulu field in the Niger Delta. According to Devakumar Edwin, Dangote’s Chief Executive Officer, after an initial production phase of around 20,000 barrels/day, the conglomerate is targeting a 100,000 b/d ratio. The extracted crude will eventually be processed in the gigantic magnate refinery (capacity of 650,000 barrels/day), currently under construction on a marshy strip east of Lagos. Through this project, Aliko Dangote hopes to help reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel. The plant is expected to enter operational phase in mid-2021.

Pressed by the IMF to reach an agreement with its creditors Glencore and Trafigura, the Republic of Congo wants to resolve this dispute before a meeting with the multilateral financial institution in April. During a weekend visit to Paris (France), the head of the Société nationale des pétroles du Congo

The continent’s leading producer of black gold with two million barrels/day, Nigeria is preparing for a perilous budget year. Noting the spectacular fall in oil prices following the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed confirmed on Monday 9 March that the 2020 budget would be revised downwards. Objective, to take into account the significant distortion between the initial forecasts (30 billion dollars of budget planned and a reference price of crude oil of 57 dollars per barrel) and the financial resources actually available. The official also said that a report with proposals to limit the economic fallout from the looming crisis will be handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday 11 March.

Six mining conventions between the Republic of Niger and two mining operators were approved on Friday 6 March in the Council of Ministers. These conventions concern the issuance of 6 research permits, attributed to the companies Loxcroft Resources Ltd and Lâlin-Niger SARL Unipersonnelle. More specifically, Loxcroft Resources was granted four licences (« Tagait 2 », « Tagait 3 », « Agebout » and « Afoudey ») to search for uranium and related substances in the departments of Tchirozerine and Arlit (Agadez), while Lâlin-Niger was granted two licences (« Dogona 1 » and « Dogona 2 ») to search for gold and precious metals in the department of Torodi (Tillabéri region). Loxcroft Resources and Lâlin-Niger will invest $8 million and $3.1 million respectively over a three-year period to complete the work. In addition to the expected tax revenues, these projects will contribute to the creation of direct and indirect jobs, the development of local communes and the training of mining and geology administration staff.

Launched in November 2017 and interrupted one year later, work on the second phase of construction of the deep-water port of Kribi resumed in February. Initially estimated to take three and a half years to complete, the project is expected to be completed in 36 months, with delivery scheduled for February 2023. At a total cost of some CFAF 400 billion, this work should, among other things, provide the Autonomous Port of Kribi (PAK) with a second container terminal (750 m) twice as long as the first, operated by the Bolloré-CHEC-CMA CGM consortium. In addition to the 2nd phase works and associated port infrastructure (container storage area, port gantries, equipment and buildings, etc.), the development of this infrastructure will eventually include the construction of hydrocarbon and mineral terminals. As a reminder, the deep-water port of Kribi was commissioned in March 2018 and currently boasts the largest draught on the West African coast (16 m).

Under pressure for weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak, black gold prices literally collapsed on Monday, March 9, after Saudi Arabia’s surprise decision to increase oil production while cutting prices. This was a disaster for African exporting countries, already weakened by the significant drop in Chinese demand. Having caught the

China is about to grant some of its biggest state-owned companies permission to start developing the northern Simandou area in Guinea, one of the world’s largest untapped iron ore deposits, sources close to the dossier said Thursday. The Middle Kingdom, anxious to ensure a supply of better quality iron ore and to expand its footprint in West Africa, wants to participate actively in the development of the project. Indeed, the Simandou deposit is not only massive - two billion tons of iron ore - but the quality of the expected production will have one of the highest grades in the industry (65% to 66% iron, above industry benchmarks of 62% iron, according to official documents). The decision is expected to be formalised soon, as the China State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) is currently in discussions with state-owned enterprises for the construction of expensive port and railway infrastructure. Lenders currently cited include the China Development Bank and the Asian Investment Bank for infrastructure. As a reminder, Simandou is 45% owned by the Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto, 40% by Chinalco, and 15% by the Guinean government.

Canadian Major Barrick Gold, which has 25 operating mines on five continents, said Friday that it is ready to deal with any outbreak of coronavirus in or near its sites, building on its experience in 2014 in managing the Ebola outbreak around its operations in West Africa. While the group has increased its site-specific emergency response plans, it has not yet introduced travel restrictions. Barrick also confirmed in a statement on Friday that supplies to its mines had not been affected and that the company was increasing its stock of key products above normal levels.

South Africa’s Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s leading platinum group, reduced its 2020 production outlook on Friday due to « force majeure ». Located 141 km from Johannesburg, the Waterval foundry plant in Rustenburg was damaged after an explosion inside the converter on 10 February, the company said today, explaining that « it had no choice but to temporarily shut down the unit to ensure the safety of all employees and thus avoid a catastrophic event ». As a result, Amplats has reduced its total metal production forecast for 2020 from a range of 4.2 million to 4.7 million ounces to 3.3 million to 3.8 million ounces. Investors were caught short and immediately sanctioned the stock on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with the group’s share price dropping nearly 20% during the session.

BW Energy, a Norwegian company active in offshore oil and gas exploration, announced on Thursday March 5 that it has started oil production on the offshore Tortoise Phase 2 field, located in the Dussafu Marin license, off the coast of Gabon. The production well, named Gamba DTM-5H, was successfully launched on March 4 and a second well is expected to come on stream later this month, the company said in its press release. BW Energy, a subsidiary of the BW Offshore Group, operates in Gabon as part of a joint venture dedicated to the Dussafu Marin license, of which it is the main operator (73.5%) alongside Tullow Oil (10%), Gabon Oil Company (9%) and Panoro Energy (7.5%).

With one-sixth of the world’s land surface, Africa accounts for 30% of the world’s mining reserves. This considerable geological wealth is based on a few leading countries and minerals, studied in detail in the latest Where to invest in Africa 2020 report by the South African investment bank Rand Merchant

The Ghanaian authorities have joined forces with the Japanese confectioner Ezaki Glico to establish the first-ever laboratory for the sensory and quality assessment of cocoa beans, as well as a training centre in Akyem Tafo, in the eastern region of the country. The two facilities, the first of their kind, are fully funded by Glico at a cost of US$170,000 and are expected to be completed within six months. This new project is in line with Ghana’s proactive approach, which has already entered into a partnership with the international economic development organization MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) to control the swollen shoot of cocoa, and is also in line with Glico’s philosophy of working directly with farmers, cooperatives and cocoa scientists around the world to provide the tools and training needed to produce the best cocoa in its class on a large scale. For Isaac Yaw Opoku, Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), « The ultimate goal is to improve our research on bean quality and build the capacity of all stakeholders along the value chain so that Ghana continues to serve the high quality chocolate and confectionery bean industry.