<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-425257" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset.jpeg 929w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Imaginima | E+ | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Oil prices rose following OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut production by another million barrels per day.



On Sunday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (known as OPEC+) made no changes to its planned oil production cuts for the rest of the year. However, the world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia announced further voluntary output cuts which will be implemented from July.



The kingdom’s output will decline to 9 million barrels per day from around 10 million barrels in May, Saudi’s energy ministry said in a statement.



Both benchmarks were more than 2% higher on Monday.



International benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $77.89 a barrel at 9:50 a.m. London time, up 2.3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures stood at $73.50, over 2.4% higher.



OPEC+ pumps approximately 40% of the world’s crude and policy decisions can have a significant impact on prices.



On April 3, several producers of the oil cartel had revealed a combined 1.66 million barrels per day of production declines until the end of this year. And many market watchers, including analysts at Goldman Sachs, had expected the alliance to keep output unchanged this time around.



“The market did not widely expect the Saudi decision to cut production by 1 million barrels per day unilaterally,” the president of analysis firm Rapidan Energy, Bob McNally, told CNBC in an e-mail following the decision.



“It once again demonstrated that Saudi Arabia is willing to act unilaterally to stabilize oil prices,” McNally said, citing the example of January 2021 when the oil titan unilaterally cut by production by 1 million barrels per day.



“We see large global deficits materializing&nbsp;in the second half of 2023 and crude prices exceeding $100 next year,” he added.



Similarly, Kang Wu, head of global demand and Asia Analytics at S&amp;P Global Commodity Insights, estimates that the significant rise of global oil demand in the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season will lead to an oil inventory draw and “support higher oil prices” over the coming months.



RBC Capital Markets’ Managing Director Helima Croft noted that while some market participants will focus on the fact that Saudi Arabia slashed its output independently, its actions lends to the integrity of the cuts.



“The fact that [Saudi Arabia] is willing to shoulder it alone adds to the credibility of the cut and signals real barrels coming off the market,” Croft wrote in a research report. However, others have not viewed the kingdom’s move with that much optimism.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ultimate-failure"><a></a>‘Ultimate failure’</h2>



This weekend marked an “ultimate failure of the Saudis” to marshal together all the OPEC+ members to undertake “what was required to bring better prices into the market,” said Ed Morse, Citi’s global head of commodities research and managing director.



Morse told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” Monday that it’s still “an extremely weak” oil market in part due to disappointing demand in the three largest consuming regions: China, the European Union and the United States.



“We have a potential for supply to be a lot bigger than where demand growth is going,” he said, citing the potential of a recession on the horizon. “There is no guarantee that [oil prices] won’t go below $70,” he said.



Commonwealth Bank of Australia is of the view that Saudi Arabia will extend July’s production cuts if Brent futures remain in the $70 to $75 per barrel range, or even drop below that. “We think Saudi Arabia will look to deepen production cuts if Brent futures sustainably drop below $US70/bbl,” CBA’s Vivek Dhar wrote in a research note Monday.



— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

107065218-1653293244892-gettyimages-1323151704-oil-pumps-and-rig-at-sunset

Oil prices pop after Saudi Arabia pledges more voluntary production cuts

08/09/2022 12:35TEXTMOZAMBIQUE-EU/&nbsp;(UPDATE 1)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-update-1-eu-boosts-military-support-to-gas-rich-mozambique-amid-energy-crisis">UPDATE 1-EU boosts military support to gas-rich Mozambique amid energy crisis</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="820" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M-820x523.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419692" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M-820x523.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



BRUSSELS, Sept 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The European Union said on Thursday it would provide additional support to an African military mission in Mozambique, as Islamist attacks threaten gas projects meant to reduce the bloc&#8217;s reliance on Russian energy.



The EU is hunting alternative sources of energy since Moscow&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine and Mozambique has the third largest proven gas reserves in Africa.



But the southern African country has been grappling with militants linked to Islamic State in its northernmost gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado since 2017. The conflict is near liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects worth billions of dollars developed by Western firms, including France&#8217;s Total&nbsp;TTEF.PA&nbsp;and Italy&#8217;s ENI&nbsp;ENI.MI.



Confirming a Reuters report in August, the EU said governments agreed to give 15 million euros ($15 million) to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to Mozambique (SAMIM), which is fighting the insurgency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2ZR1SZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>.



In an internal report seen by Reuters, the EU had warned of a &#8220;very volatile&#8221; situation in north Mozambique despite the SADC mission and a separate intervention by troops from Rwanda managing to contain the militants.



The financial support was announced a day after Mozambique said that at least six people were beheaded and an Italian nun killed by insurgents in northern Nampula province&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2ZR1SZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>.



The funds come in addition to 1.9 million euros already provided by the EU to SAMIM and 89 million euros for the Mozambican armed forces.



The additional funds will be used to acquire camp fortifications and storage containers, medical equipment, vehicles and boats, as well as technological devices, the EU statement said.



In its internal report, the EU had said support would be limited to non-lethal equipment despite SADC&#8217;s need for such.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2ZR1SZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>.



The report said that EU support for the Rwandan mission in Mozambique would also be proposed in coming months.



($1 = 1.0004 euros)



(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by David Evans and Andrew Cawthorne)

ICIUDHNRKBMGVDJHG44RQ4363M

EU boosts military support to gas-rich Mozambique amid energy crisis

By Felix Onuah



ABUJA, May 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigerian central bank governor Godwin Emefiele will seek the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) ticket to run for president next February, a ruling party spokesperson said on Friday.



President Muhammadu Buhari will step down after serving two four-year terms following a February 2023 ballot. His ruling APC has set its primaries to decide on their presidential candidate for May 30-31.



Emefiele will go head-to-head with current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos state governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who are frontrunners in the race to be the next candidate to head Africa&#8217;s top economy.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2W90ZF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;I can confirm that central bank governor bought the APC presidential form today,&#8221; the APC spokesperson said, referring to forms to contest for the party&#8217;s nomination.



A central bank spokesperson did not return calls on whether Emefiele would stay on as central bank governor.



Political parties in Nigeria should pick presidential candidates by June 3, according to the electoral commission, while official campaigning will begin in September.



Emefiele is serving a second term at the central bank where he has pursued dovish policies on interest rates, introduced currency controls and launched a company to help build infrastructure in Nigeria, Africa&#8217;s most populous nation.



The ex-Zenith Bank&nbsp;ZENITHB.LG&nbsp;chief executive has tried to avoid a large currency devaluation that is frustrating foreign investors stuck in Nigeria at the height of a recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.



Political power in Nigeria tends to shift between the oil-rich, largely Christian south and the poorer, mostly Muslim north. Buhari is from northern Katsina state and APC&#8217;s next candidate is expected to come from the south.



Some questioned whether Emefiele will be able to remain at the helm of the central bank while pursuing his political ambitions which would require a strong coalition of supporters with deep pockets to take on opponents.



&#8220;Is his position as central bank governor still tenable?,&#8221; one economist, who is a consultant to the central bank and declined to be named.



News of Emefiele&#8217;s presidential bid sent the naira close to a record low of 591 per dollar on the black market&nbsp;NGNP=, against a range of 413 to 417 naira on the official market&nbsp;NGN=&nbsp;where it has traded this year.



(Reporting by Felix OnuahWriting by Chijioke OhuochaEditing by James Macharia Chege and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Nigeria MPC: CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele retains MPR at 13.5% (full speech)

Nigeria’s central bank governor to seek ruling party ticket to run for president

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="820" height="540" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESGQBXR2INIGJPHHKTQJIV6IA4-820x540.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413521" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESGQBXR2INIGJPHHKTQJIV6IA4-820x540.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESGQBXR2INIGJPHHKTQJIV6IA4-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESGQBXR2INIGJPHHKTQJIV6IA4-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESGQBXR2INIGJPHHKTQJIV6IA4-768x506.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESGQBXR2INIGJPHHKTQJIV6IA4.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Cooling towers at a coal-based power station owned by state power utility Eskom in Duhva, South Africa, February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Nov 17 (Reuters) &#8211; Three civil society groups have taken the South African government to court over its plan for new coal-fired power, which they say threatens people&#8217;s right to an environment not harmful to health.



South Africa already has 15 coal plants with a nominal capacity of more than 38,000 megawatts (MW) and is the world&#8217;s 12th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.



The intention to build 1,500 MW of new coal capacity is contained in the government&#8217;s Integrated Resource Plan, a 2019 document laying out the energy mix up to 2030.



At the United Nations COP26 climate summit this month South Africa secured $8.5 billion of financing from wealthy nations to speed up its shift from coal.



Lawyers for the three groups &#8211; groundWork, the African Climate Alliance and Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action &#8211; wrote to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and energy regulator Nersa in September demanding that the plan for 1,500 MW of new coal capacity be scrapped.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-south-africa-seeks-over-27-bln-of-finance-for-shift-from-coal">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/south-africa-seeks-over-27-bln-of-finance-for-shift-from-coal/">South Africa seeks over $27 bln of finance for shift from coal</a></h3>



The lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday that the government had not responded to their &#8220;letter of demand&#8221; and that litigation had now been launched in the high court.



&#8220;New coal-fired power flies in the face of our constitutional right to an environment not harmful to health and wellbeing, not only for the present generations but for future ones too,&#8221; said Nicole Loser, programme head for pollution and climate change at the Centre for Environmental Rights.



&#8220;There is no justifiable basis for the limitation of constitutional rights because cleaner and less harmful renewable energy is both a feasible and cheaper alternative to new coal power,&#8221; the statement continued.



Spokespeople for Mantashe, the mineral resources and energy department and Nersa could not comment immediately.



Mantashe, a former trade union leader, has argued that the transition towards renewable energy should not be rushed.



 (Reporting by Alexander Winning. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Janet Maloka

Oil prices pop after Saudi Arabia pledges more voluntary production cuts

EU boosts military support to gas-rich Mozambique amid energy crisis

Nigeria’s central bank governor to seek ruling party ticket to run for president

South Africa taken to court over plan for new coal power

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Janet Maloka

Oil prices pop after Saudi Arabia pledges more voluntary production cuts

EU boosts military support to gas-rich Mozambique amid energy crisis

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South Africa taken to court over plan for new coal power

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