VenturesNow

South Sudan puts up 14 oil blocs for sale amid dwindling economy

Published

2 years ago

September 16, 2022

Amid a dwindling economy and the threat of skyrocketing inflation, South Sudan has put up 14 of its oil blocs for sale in a bid to increase production to pre-war levels of 350,000 barrels a day.

The Managing Director of State-owned oil conglomerate, Nile Petroleum Corporation Limited (Nilepet), Chol Deng Thon Abel, who confirmed the development to journalists in the capital, Juba, on Thursday, said interest in the country’s petroleum industry has been growing from within Africa and abroad.

Much of South Sudan’s oil and gas blocks are yet to be fully explored and resources assessed, stalled by conflict, hence the need to sell them off,” Abel said at the end of the country’s 5th annual oil and power forum.

“We have 14 oil blocks that have not been taken, and we invite international companies that are here to seize the opportunity to apply for these blocks.

“South Sudan is actually very busy nowadays attracting international companies to come and invest in the oil industry, and this conference is a very good platform to exchange ideas with international companies,” the MD added.

Going by the sale plans, Nilepet is to take over blocks 3 and 7 by 2027, while blocks 3 and 7 are to be taken over and operated by Dar Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium owned by Malaysian Petroliam Nasional, China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petrochemical, Nile Petroleum and MOG Energy, when the exploration production sharing agreement expires, Abel said.

South Sudan which has the third largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa estimated at 3.5 billion barrels, has been producing at only 30 per cent capacity following conflicts that have engulfed the country since gaining independence from Sudan in 2002.

According to statistics, the country currently produces 175,000 barrels a day, about a third of the potential 500,000 bpd, in blocks 1, 2 and 4 and blocks 3 and 7, and block 5A in Unity state.

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VenturesNow

Nigeria wants $2.25 billion World Bank loan

Published

5 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Wale Edun, has revealed that the country is seeking up to $2.25 billion in World Bank loans and expects the bank’s board to approve the request in June.

The move was announced in a statement following the International Monetary Fund/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, D.C as the country also aims to issue diaspora bonds later this year to attract much-need foreign exchange into the country.

The World Bank loans would include $1.5 billion for development policy and $750 million for program-for-results, the statement said. It also said that the bank would meet in June to decide whether to approve the plan in its entirety.

The multilateral body is yet to comment on the revelation at press time.

Nigeria one of Africa’s biggest oil producers has struggled lately mainly over industrial-scale crude oil theft, and troubles getting foreign currency, which caused its naira currency to drop to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar. It has since recovered, though.

Already, the country is on record levels of debt, high unemployment, and large amounts of money from the central bank. However, Edun has insisted that the government had cut the money it borrowed from the central bank in half.

VenturesNow

Ghana’s finance minister anticipates debt restructuring MoU with lenders

Published

19 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ghana’s Finance Minister has announced that the country’s two main creditors will send him a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a restructuring deal in May, signifying a major progress in the country’s debt reform.

Once the MoU is signed, it will make public the deal that was made in January to restructure $5.4 billion in loans with its official creditors, such as China and France.

The restructuring is a big step toward Ghana getting rid of its debt as it works to get out of the worst economic crisis in a generation. It should also allow the country to get more money from its $3 billion IMF program.

Mohammed Amin Adam said he was sure the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank would work together at the Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. In June, the Monetary Fund’s executive board will agree to review its staff-level deal.

From 2023 to 2028, Ghana’s national debt to gross domestic product level was supposed to go down by 15%. This guess says that the number will have gone down every year for six years, ending at 69.96% in 2028.

Ghana didn’t pay back most of its foreign loans in December 2022 because it became too expensive to do so. But now it needs to work out a deal with private holders of about $13 billion in foreign bonds. It has also changed most of its domestic debt.