Africa Energy

For more than 40 years now, Egypt has been pumping natural gas, with its first discoveries coming in the still-rich Delta region, but over the past 15 years, the country’s prominence as a major producer has risen significantly. Gas reserves were equivalent to more than 77trn cu feet (tcf) by the middle of 2011, an increase of about 50% from the...

That plans for Egypt’s upstream energy sector are proceeding, despite recent upheaval and political uncertainty, is testament to its importance to the national economy. Whereas many government departments declined to initiate new projects or make important decisions during the interregnum period, the Ministry of Petroleum (MoP) and corresponding...

The Arish-Ashkelon pipeline from Egypt to Israel is, perhaps apart from domestic subsidies, the most controversial element of the country’s energy sector, with many Egyptians angry about selling a precious resource to a country whose policies they oppose.

As a net importer of oil as well as a producer, Egypt is sensitive to the ups and downs of the global crude market. This is especially true given that the government heavily subsidies the price of petrol. And, to the extent that native oil is sold on the local market, producers are compensated based on prevailing world prices. In an era when oil...

While the government has been exporting its share of the country’s oil, demand at home continues to increase. With erratic and restricted refinery capacity hampering delivery to the domestic market, the cost of meeting this demand is becoming an increasing burden.

One of the most important and often heated debates in the energy sector centres on the revenue agreements between the government and operators. While the contracts for the partners at the Jubilee Field were drawn up as far back as 2005, there is an increasing belief in the media and among local think tanks that Ghana should be getting more from its...