August 15
Nigeria: Nigeria's Niger Delta Biohazards - High Radioactive Levels Detected in New Study
The Niger Delta, in southern Nigeria, is one of the most significant oil-producing regions in the world. It spans over 70,000 square kilometres and is also an area of great… Read more »
June 06
South Africa: South Africa's Largest Oil Refinery Sold for a Few Cents - Will BP and Shell Be Held Accountable for Environmental Damage?
The sale of the South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref), jointly owned by multinational energy companies BP and Shell, to the state-owned Central Energy Fund for R1 (five US… Read more »
May 18
South Africa: South African Communities Vs Shell - High Court Victories Show That Cultural Beliefs and Practices Count in Climate Cases
When the Shell petroleum company announced in 2021 that it wanted to explore for fossil fuels off South Africa's pristine Wild Coast, Indigenous communities in the area immediately… Read more »
March 19
Nigeria: Nigeria's Fuel Subsidy Removal Was Too Sudden - Why a Gradual Approach Would Have Been Better
Nigeria removed fuel subsidies entirely in May 2023. This came as a surprise because of the political risks associated with subsidy removal. Previous administrations were reluctant… Read more »
December 10, 2023
Uganda: Uganda Will Soon Be Exporting Oil - an Energy Economist Outlines 3 Keys to Success
Uganda entered into agreements in 2012 with two foreign oil entities to exploit its oil resources. Total Energies holds 56.67% of the joint venture partnership and China National… Read more »
October 30, 2023
Nigeria: Niger Delta Is Rich in Resources, but Environmental Destruction Is Pushing People Into Poverty
Nigeria's Niger Delta region is rich in natural resources. Its vast oil and gas deposits are the mainstay of the country's economy. Read more »
October 02, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Blue Economy Ministry to Harness Marine Resources
Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a new ministerial portfolio in August: Marine and Blue Economy. This was welcome news as it renewed hope for economic development… Read more »
August 02, 2023
Namibia: Oil Drilling Threatens the Okavango River Basin, Putting Water in Namibia and Botswana At Risk
The Namibian and Botswana governments may be risking their water resources for oil and gas revenue. They have licensed a Canadian firm, ReconAfrica, to prospect for oil in the… Read more »
June 13, 2023
Africa: Experts Explain Why It's Still Africa's Best Option for Cleaner, Greener Cooking (For Now)
Africa's growing population desperately needs clean, modern energy in the home. Currently, more than 900 million people, 85% of the region's population, still rely on solid biomass… Read more »
May 25, 2023
Africa: Greenwashing - Energy Companies Make False Claims About Sustainability - They Should Be Held to Account
Companies implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a way to present an environmentally responsible image and therefore gain legitimacy in the eyes of their stakeholders.… Read more »
May 22, 2023
Africa: Dangote Launches Africa's Biggest Oil Refinery - 4 Ways It Will Affect Nigeria
Nigeria's new Dangote petroleum refinery is Africa's biggest - it will produce 650,000 barrels a day, giving it the potential to address the country's energy supply crisis. Read more »
May 04, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Fuel Subsidy - It's Time to Kill It and Spend the Money in Ways That Benefit the Poor
Nigerians are being hit from all sides by a combination of factors that are making their lives increasingly difficult. These include rising cost of living which is reflected in… Read more »
March 01, 2023
Africa: Oil and Gas Companies Are Seen As Climate Villains. Truth Is, We'll Need Their Expertise to Make Green Hydrogen a Reality
Think about oil and gas companies and climate change and chances are you'll think dark thoughts. It's true Exxon Mobil had remarkably detailed knowledge of global warming in the… Read more »
January 27, 2023
Somalia: Somaliland's Oil Find Could Reset the Regional Balance - Here's How
The presence of oil in Somaliland has been confirmed by a recent exploration. The discovery has raised the stakes in Somaliland's claim for independence from Somalia as it holds… Read more »
December 12, 2022
East Africa: The Lapsset Development Corridor - Between a Bright Future and a Grim Past
The Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport - or Lapsset - corridor is the flagship project of Kenya's Vision 2030 development agenda. Inaugurated in 2012, the planned corridor… Read more »
November 22, 2022
Africa: All Signs Point to Blowing Past the 1.5 Degrees Global Warming Limit - Here's What We Can Still Do #AfricaClimateCrisis
The world could still, theoretically, meet its goal of keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a level many scientists consider a dangerous threshold. Realistically,… Read more »
November 20, 2022
Nigeria: Treatment of Wastewater in Oil Fields Is Failing, Raising the Risk of Health Hazards #AfricaClimateCrisis
People need both clean, safe water and sustainable energy. That means both resources must be properly managed. But when it comes to the oil and gas industries, there's a problem. Read more »
October 08, 2022
Uganda: Fuel Smugglers - Are the Opec Boys (Anti-)heroes of the Marginalised?
Smuggling in the Ugandan border region of West Nile has a long and chequered history. It straddles the fine line between legitimacy and legality. Governance and conflict researcher… Read more »
October 03, 2022
Ghana: Ghana's Petroleum Sector Management Is a Mess - What's Gone Wrong?
After three decades of prospecting Ghana discovered commercially viable quantities of petroleum in 2007. Within 3.5 years, it exported its first barrels of crude oil. The… Read more »
September 24, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria Is Producing Less and Less Oil. Here's Why
Nigeria's oil output was at the lowest since 1990 as its crude oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in August 2022. And data from the Organisation of the… Read more »
October 29, 2015
Angola: Where Did All the Oil Riches Go? - Luanda Residents
A few years ago, Luanda, the capital of Angola, was on every ambitious investor's lips. With large infrastructure and housing projects rapidly changing its appearance, the city… Read more »