VenturesNow

Tanzania signs LNG development deal with Equinor, Shell, Exxon

Published

3 weeks ago

May 19, 2023

Tanzania has signed a deal for the development of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal with international oil firms, Equinor, Shell and Exxon Mobil.

According to the deal, the Tanzanian government will provide regulatory framework for the operation of the firms towards the development of the projects.

Equinor and Shell are joint operators of the development, while Exxon, Pavilion Energy, Medco Energi and Tanzania’s national oil company TPDC are partners.

Equinor’s Tanzania country manager, Unni Fjaer said in a statement that the agreement “paves the way for the series of milestones that need to follow to realise this fantastic LNG opportunity for the country and the world.”

Tanzania’s chief negotiator, Charles Sangweni expressed delight about the project.

“We are happy it is a big step towards the implementation of the project although we have a lot to do. If everything goes well as planned, I am confident that the final investment decision will be reached in 2025.”

The oil firms all currently have operating units in the country. Equinor operates Block 2, in which ExxonMobil holds a stake, while Shell operates Tanzania’s Block 1 and Block 4, which hold 16 trillion cubic feet in estimated recoverable gas.

Currently, natural gas infrastructures are available to 2,000 households, and 62 per cent of Tanzania’s 1100MW installed capacity comes from onshore sources including Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay.

VenturesNow

Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

14 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

VenturesNow

Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

14 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.