Africa Energy

Electricity is regularly cited as Nigeria’s chief obstacle to economic growth, but 2013 may mark a turning point for what is often referred to as the country’s Achilles heel. Nigeria has a population of some 168.8m but produces less grid-connected electricity than a major British city. For more than a decade, the lack of reliable power has cut into...

Egypt’s wind resources are some of the most comprehensively studied in the region. The coastline of the Gulf of Suez in particular was investigated in great detail between 1996 and 2003 in a joint effort by the Danish RISO laboratories and the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA), the result of which was the Wind Atlas for the Gulf of Suez West...

With its growing reputation as a renewable energy producer over recent years, Egypt has relied largely on its successful utilisation of its wind resource, the most celebrated example of which is the 545-MW wind farm at Zafarana. However, the nation’s arid climate also makes it suitable for large-scale solar projects, the potential of which has been...

As the largest non-OPEC oil producer in Africa as well as the continent’s second-largest natural gas producer, Egypt’s hydrocarbons resources and production play a central role in the nation’s economy. Exploration and production activity has not been significantly affected by the country’s ongoing political transition, with a handful of new...

The provision of electricity, water and sanitation services presents particular challenges in a country with a population expanding as rapidly as that of Egypt. The unrest experienced by the country since 2011 has further complicated this task. While successive governments have taken steps to increase the capacity of the nation’s utilities...

One of the largest concerns for the Ministry of Petroleum since the start of 2011 has been the potentially adverse effects of political uncertainty, as well as a deterioration of security conditions as Egypt undergoes its challenging political transition. While there has been some concern that the political unrest of the last years would deter...