Page 17 - AfrOil Week 18 2022

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

business new africa bna/IntelliNews

The statement by ACSA, a partly state-owned AGRC is comprised of US-based Baker- border with Morocco shut for decades.
airport management company, follows a series Hughes GE, Italy’s Saipem, and Mauritian-reg- The Maghreb pipeline was closed in October
of disruptions to the jet-fuel transportation value istered Yaatra Africa and Lionworks Group. 2021 after Algeria’s 25-year contract to supply
chain, particularly damage to railway infrastruc- In February, Uganda’s energy minister held Spain expired. Spain announced that the gas
ture caused by recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal talks this week with the consortium developing that will be directed to Morocco through the
province that led some companies to declare the country’s first oil refinery, days after a final Maghreb pipeline will come from other sources
force majeure. investment decision (FID) was taken on the pro- but not Algeria. Spain clarified that the LNG flow
Due to the floods, approximately 140 sections ject to develop the larger of the oilfields that will and regasification to Morocco from the interna-
of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) lines were dam- provide its feedstock. tional markets aim to guarantee the country’s
aged on the route to Johannesburg. Of the 67 rail During a visit to Italy, Uganda’s Minister of energy security.
tanks en route to OR Tambo International Air- Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nanka- Earlier in April, Algeria’s state-owned hydro-
lines, only 11 arrived, IOL reports. birwa discuss discussed the status of the facility carbons firm Sonatrach warned that it could
ACSA, TFR and oil companies now propose at Kabale in Hoima district with the AGRC. The raise the price of the gas it sells to Spain amid
transporting the remaining 56 rail tanks to a group holds a 60% share in the refinery project growing diplomatic tensions after Madrid
National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa with the remainder held by the Uganda National backed a Moroccan autonomy plan for West-
(NATREF) refinery and then piping it to OR Oil Co. (UNOC) through its Uganda Refinery ern Sahara. Algeria also recalled its ambassa-
Tambo. Holding Co. (URHC) subsidiary. dor to Spain in March, criticising Madrid over
Meanwhile, ACSA has issued a Notice to In August, the Africa Finance Corp. (AFC) the reported change in its 42-year-old policy
Airmen (NOTAM) to formally notify airlines advanced $20mn for the facility’s construction towards its former colony.
across the globe, where necessary, to refuel at with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Spain receives about 40% of its gas from
other airports. Prosper Africa and Trace and Development Algeria.
OR Tambo said on April 26 it was operating Agency also seen providing finance for the bne/IntelliNews, April 28 2022
on three to four days’ worth of stock, which will refinery.
be sustained over the next six weeks. bne/IntelliNews, April 27 2022 Tunisia’s new energy
ACSA chief executive Mpumi Mpofu said
NATREF confirmed an additional supply of authority to start
14mn litres of jet fuel. “Additionally, we are POLICY
expecting a shipment of 10mn litres on May 5, operating in 2024
which will assist in stabilizing ACSA’s fuel lev- Algeria warns of supply
els to approximately three to four days’ worth of The draft text of Tunisia’s newly proposed energy
stock,’’ he said cut to Spain if Sonatrach’s regulatory authority will be finalized by the end
bne/IntelliNews, April 29 2022 of the year and the authority will start its work
in 2024, industry, energy and mines minister
Uganda to produce 220,000 gas is diverted to Morocco Neila Gongi told the state news agency TAP in
via GME pipeline
an interview.
tonnes annually of LPG from Algeria has warned it will cut gas supplies to the establishment of the new authority in the
Through 2023, the government will legalize
planned oil refinery Spain if the latter diverts part of the supply Constitution and offer technical training pro-
to Morocco, as Madrid announced it would grams for its staff, she said.
Uganda plans to produce 220,000 tonnes per re-open the Gas Maghreb-Europe (GME) pipe- The independent authority, which will be
year (tpy) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from line, Reuters reported, citing sources inside the launched in collaboration with the United
the planned oil refinery as the country targets Algerian cabinet. Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
phasing out LPG imports. Algeria and Morocco have been at odds over will be tasked with handling disputes, defining
Once the country’s oil refinery is in place, the vast Saharan territory for decades. Morocco the rules of access to the national energy net-
LPG capacity will be about 24 times the current annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish col- work and issuing advisory recommendations on
estimated demand of 9,000 tonnes of LPG in the ony, in 1975, and Algeria in response has kept its energy strategies and investment projects.
country, said the Ugandan oil refinery holding
company’s general manager, Michael Nkambo
Mugerwa.
The East African country, which discovered
oil reserves more than a decade ago, has seen its
production timeline changed many times due to
government disagreements with field investors
over taxes and development policies.
Uganda now says it expects commercial oil
production by 2023, many years later than ini-
tially planned, and will construct its own oil
refinery that should be operational by 2027.
In April 2021 Uganda signed a deal with
the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium
(AGRC) to build and operate a 60,000 barrel per
day (bpd) refinery that is estimated to cost $4bn.

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