African Business News

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:34



NIGERIA

Nigeria's most prominent militant group has threatened to attack foreign workers with construction firm Julius Berger if it does not halt operations in the capital Abuja within a week. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said its threat against the country's largest construction firm was in reaction to a road accident in Abuja on Friday. That's after a Julius Berger truck crashed into a commuter bus killing at least 12 people.

The militants have generally restricted attacks to the Niger Delta, where they are demanding a greater share of the region's oil wealth, rather than threatening action in the capital. Julius Berger, one of Nigeria's biggest private sector employers, has already halted work in the Niger Delta after two of its German employees were kidnapped last month.

ALGERIA

Algeria's energy sector plans to invest over $45 billion over the next four years in a bid to increase its oil production and gas exports. State company Sonatrach will provide $35.8 billion while the rest will come from foreign partners. The north African country is a major energy exporter to Europe and produces about 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. Its gas exports are currently estimated at 62 billion cubic metres per year and are expected to reach 85 billion cubic metres by 2012. Algeria is also currently staging its first exploration and production licensing round since 2005. The round has been eagerly awaited by multinationals seeking to explore Africa's largest gas producer.

PIEA

The Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) said consumption of petroleum products in the first six months of the year dropped 9% to 1,7 million tonnes from the more than 1,8 million tonnes used over the same period last year. The PIEA said the higher petroleum prices have forced many motorists to abandon private cars in favour of public transport to manage costs, and this despite data indicating that motor vehicle registrations grew by 67% in the first four months of the year. Some oil marketers, however, maintained that the January post-election turmoil that blockaded large parts of the country is a contributing factor to the dip in sales.

ANGOLA

Finnish engineering group Wartsila has announced it has won an order for a 36 Megawatt power plant from ETA Star, based in Dubai. The power plant is to supply a cement plant in Angola and will be handed over in June 2010. Wartsila did not disclose the value of the deal.